Getting By With a Little Help From My Friends: 7 Tips for a Better Holiday

An extended week of Thanksgiving left me with a full belly and, even better, a full heart. With gratitude to the many friends who included me, here are 7 lessons I treasure from the time shared with them in November. Equally applicable to whatever you may be celebrating in December, or anytime of the year.

1.  SHARE THE WORK

A Monday night Friendsgiving celebration kicked things off. Brian bought a 24 lb. turkey. Deb cooked it.

The rest of us contributed appetizers, sides, and desserts and helped wash the dishes.

2. FOCUS ON MAKING ONE THING WELL

If you're in a position not to have the weight of the whole dinner on your shoulders, make something you love. In the case of our Friendsgiving dinner, I didn't want to get into debates about whether stuffing should be cooked inside or outside the bird or how whether a sweet potato dish should include marshmallows. Instead, I spent my time and energy making gravy, starting with turkey wing stock. It had been a while since I'd made a stock, and I had fun doing it.

3. PITCH IN FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

I've had two great opportunities to do this recently. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving Slow Food Cincinnati (I'm a proud board member) partnered with Gabriel's Place to create a pre-Thanksgiving dinner we called ThankFALL. Here are the only photos I managed to snap in the midst of helping to serve a full holiday meal to 200 people: Elderberry pie and pumpkin squares.

I also had fun attending the Main St. Progressive Dinner the Thursday before Thanksgiving, put on by local businesses Park + Vine, Iris Book Cafe, MOTR, Hen of the Woods, Macaron Bar, and Liberty's Bar and Bottle. Macaron Bar is opening to the public soon, and you don't want to miss the flavorful lighter-than-air macarons they're creating. Shop, and eat, local this holiday season!

4. GO OUTSIDE THE TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY BOX

After dinners three nights in a row that included turkey, I was grateful that my idiosyncratic friends Becky and John invited me to share their table. Although Thursday was officially Thanksgiving, we kept it simple and enjoyed a great leg of lamb with cauliflower mash and mushroom gravy.

5. PASS IT ON - DON'T LET FOOD GO TO WASTE

Turkey carcasses should never go to waste. When I heard my friend Jennifer would make a jook if she had a turkey to work with, I asked Deb if she would be willing to let me share the one from our Monday Friendsgiving. "Sure," Deb said. "I'm making another turkey on Thursday."

Jennifer turned it into this jook, a soup/porridge like congee, with lots and lots of condiments.

6. ACCEPT IMPROMPTU INVITATIONS

'Tis the season of hospitality. And unpredictable work schedules and family dynamics. Just say yes. It can lead you into a wonderland.

Exhibit #1: A Wednesday night invitation with friends.

Exhibit #2: A last-minute Sunday morning invite that turned out to be a killer brunch at Fifty West Brewing. Although Fifty West does brunch every Sunday, this was a special collaboration called "Southern Brewer's Brunch" with Atlanta's SweetWater Brewing and food by the chefs of The Eagle.

7.   TRY SOMETHING NEW

I feel lucky that so many people shared their food, their time, and their tables with me. Some of my favorite dishes were ones I'd never tasted before, like this tiradito brought to Friendsgiving by my friend Salamon now of Chino Latino Catering.

And this Peruvian dish called Causa, by my friend Alex's mom.

However you choose to spend your holidays, treat your neighbors with kindness and share a great meal!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Fourth Blogiversary

The past year was marked by a couple of events I completely did not see coming. First, the bad news: I was laid off from the law office I’d worked at for five years. Putting blogging on the back burner, I spent an unsettled five months job hunting and grappling with that itchy question: “What do I want to be when I grow up?” I had already changed careers once, from publishing to the legal profession. Did I dare try to reinvent myself again?

The editorial bug that bit me at my first NYC publishing job and followed me to Cincinnati, Columbus, and back has never really left. When I needed a new hobby in 2010, I started this blog. Given a chance to edit a book by a friend or relative during my 14 law office years, I always welcomed the opportunity to reconnect to my blue-pencil roots. As I sent out resume after resume last summer and fall, I couldn’t get my last editorial project out of my head, my nephew Mike’s book, Hot Dogs, A Little Marketing, and a Lot of Fun, which he followed with How Can I KETCHUP and Find My Hot Dog Stand?

Practical, punny, and reminiscent of Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Mike’s books include real-life lessons he learned putting himself through The Ohio State University by running a campus hot dog cart, one of his favorite parts of attending OSU. He’s gone on to a successful ad sales career for a sports radio station in Columbus, launched a website called Marketing Fun With Mike, and is always tackling new challenges, like blogging, podcasting, and public speaking focused on inspiring others to merge their passion, profession, and community involvement. His genuineness and giant smile are infectious. As I slogged through the legal want ads and completed endless online job applications, I kept holding out a wee bit of hope I would find my own “hot dog stand” too.

One fall afternoon I received a message from my friends at Tom+Chee inviting me to stop by for a video shoot. Glad I didn’t have to beg off due to a 9-to-5 job, I happily headed down to their Court St. shop. Since the first week Tom+Chee opened in a food tent on Fountain Square in 2009, just steps outside my former law office, I’ve been rooting for these guys. I’ve gotten to know founders Corey Ward, Trew Quackenbush, their wives, and families by being a loyal customer and eventually blogging about them. I had the good luck to be present when Adam Richman came to town to film Travel Channel’s “Man v. Food Nation,” T+C’s first national TV appearance. And I’ve been following their explosive success on the franchising front since they appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank” last May.

The shoot that fateful October afternoon wasn’t another national TV gig. Their new staff videographer was filming a quirky T+C promo to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I met a couple more new staffers of what is now called Tom+Chee Worldwide, LLC, and wistfully mentioned to founding wives Jenn Quackenbush and Jenny Rachford that I was on the job market and hoped they would keep me in mind the next time the corporate office was hiring. Fast forward: I started writing press releases for Tom+Chee two days later and now am on staff in their marketing department.

Wow. I get paid to write. About food. And small business. And entrepreneurs. The things I've blogged about here for the last four years.

Funny, making money has never been my goal for this blog. But it has prompted me to get more involved in my local food community and led to friendships and experiences that are priceless.

Speaking of food and community, I will take this opportunity to mention two upcoming events I'm particularly excited about.

Next Monday (1/13/14) Maribelle's is hosting another "Food Fight." Inspired by the TV show "Knife Fight," it's part competition, part potluck, and a great opportunity to mix and mingle with local chefs and food lovers in a casual setting. The first one, in November, drew a great crowd, so get there early. Cost is $10, or *$15 if you'd like to compete/judge (open to both professionals and home cooks). Bring a dish to share if you're so inclined, but it is not required. You can purchase cocktails, wine and beer. MadTree Brewery is bringing some new beers you can try, and a growing list of local farmers and purveyors – including Carriage House Farm, Napoleon Ridge Farm, Brooks Meats, and Butcher Bettie's – are contributing ingredients for the mystery baskets competitors will have to cook with. In addition, Chris Weist of Cincy Sharp will be on hand to sharpen your knives (just $1 per inch). Fourteen names from the $15 pot will be drawn and those folks will be randomly assigned to either cook or judge. There are two initial battle rounds of three cooks each, followed by a head-to-head match between the winners, and Chef Josh Campbell, who won the whole she-bang in November, gets to defend his title. For more details, check the facebook event page. *ETA: Cost has been changed to $10 for all.

The following Saturday (1/18/14) Slow Food Cincinnati is hosting a potluck of a different ilk, a brunch and brainstorming session from 10:30 to 1:00 at the Deeper Roots Coffee roastery in Mt. Healthy, where we had a great turnout for our tour last year. I've loved being on the Slow Food Cincinnati board during the past year and am looking forward to even more exciting events for our chapter in the future. If you care about local, sustainably raised, and delicious food, please join us and share your suggestions about what you'd like to see us do in 2014. More details here.

I hope to get back to blogging on a more regular basis this year. But you can always find me sharing info, events, and food adventures on my facebook page. It's an exciting time for food in Cincinnati, and I'm thrilled to be part of it in my own little way!

From the bottom of my aubergine heart, I thank all the friends – old and new, near and far – who I've met thanks to this blogging thing. Your inspiration and appreciation mean more than you know, especially after a year like I had in 2013. But I have a feeling awesome things are in store. After all, it seems I've finally found my hot dog stand.

xoxo, eggy

Cincinnati Restaurants BENEFIT Us All - and a Give-Away

I am continually amazed by the many local chefs and restaurants who not only endure the frenzy of each night’s service at their respective businesses but also give back to the community and great causes. Since I last posted on this blog, I’ve been fortunate to attend and volunteer for several. A few highlights.

Eat Local for the Globe

September's Eat Local for the Globe drew a record number of local chefs bringing their A game for a spectacular dinner to benefit Findlay Market. One of the fun things about volunteering for it was watching the chefs collaborate as they joined in plating each other's dishes. Also, that moment when Jean-Robert de Cavel pitched in at the bussing station. Because, you know, dishes were starting to pile up, and he's not above doing whatever needs to be done.

eat.play.give

Top local chefs also turn out to give back to Jean-Robert and his wife Annette, who lost their daughter Tatiana to SIDS and host an annual fundraiser for SIDS research in her honor called eat.play.give. Always delectable!

 

Cincinnati Chocolate Festival

Cincinnati Chocolate Festival is run be all volunteers helping the Isaac M. Wise Temple Sisterhood raise funds for their year-round projects like Interfaith Hospitality Network, Over-the-Rhine Soup Kitchen, Freestore Foodbank, The Assistance League, and the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter. I got to sample savory chocolate-laced dishes from their new Cheers for Chocolate wine and food booth in between watching demos and "wrangling" some local all-stars serving as judges. They were happy to participate and didn't need much wrangling after all.

Slow Food Cincinnati Tomatoland Dinner

I am especially grateful to all who helped raise funds for Slow Food Cincinnati (a cause dear to me - I am on the SFC Board). From Molly Wellman's bourbon + tomato syrup cocktail to Megan Ketover's olive oil basque cake with honeyed tomato butter, lemon rosemary ice cream and fennel, and her amazing mignardise plate, we were lucky to have Slow Food Cincinnati Snail of Approval award winners Todd Kelly and Megan Ketover of Orchids, Stephen Williams and Bhumin Desai of Bouquet Restaurant and Wine Bar, and Local 127's Steven Geddes and Kyle Johnson prepare us a fabulous feast.

LLS Taste of the World at the Newport Aquarium

Here's another great benefit coming up Sat., Nov. 9 that raises funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Tickets are $100 for general admission, or $150 for the Top Shelf Room. But you can win a pair of tickets by commenting here, on the Eggplant To Go facebook page or tweeting/retweeting at @eggplanttogo by 11:59 p.m., Wed., Nov. 6. Participating restaurants include Alfio's buon cibo, Andy's Mediterranean Grill, BB Riverboats, Coffee Emporium, Dewey's Pizza, European Imports, Food Match, Frisch's, Fusian, Keystone Bar & Grill, Palomino, The Party Source EQ, P.F. Chang's, Pit to Plate BBQ, Madisono's Gelato, Red Roost Tavern, Stone Creek Dining Company, Taste of Belgium, and Yagoot.

My thanks to blogger friends Laura and David Arnold of Cincinnati Nomerati for all their work on the LLS benefit and making this giveaway possible. Disclosure: they are also providing me a pair of tickets. I hope to see you there!

Second Sunday on Main Chef Demos Start Tomorrow!

Squid cooked in ink, blood sausage, black chickpea puree,
black mint, bull's blood greens,

created by Chef Jackson Rouse for Cincinnati's Diner en Noir

Have you been to the Second Sunday on Main Celebrity Chef Demos? I hadn't until last year, and now I can't get enough. This season's May-Oct. series launches tomorrow, with chef Jackson Rouse and beverage dude Rom Wells of The Rookwood in Mt. Adams as featured demo-ers, in a new location this year: the side room of Mr. Pitiful's, at 1323 Vine St. Come watch – and taste – what these talented guys create tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. for FREE! City Cellars will return this year with wine pairings, and there should be some sweet gifts to be raffled off as well. Did I mention this is all FREE?

When I learned about the SSOM Chef Demo series last summer, I couldn't believe it had already been going on for more than five years and I'd just caught wind of it. That was one of several experiences that led me to take this blog (more often its fb page) in the direction of sharing news of under-reported local food events that get me excited, and seek them out myself. In the casual environment of these demos, I had the opportunity to taste the food of some of Cincinnati's top chefs and learn a bit more about them. I talked friends into meeting me for OTR brunches beforehand, explored whatever wacky events were going on in middle of of Main St. (closed to vehicles between 14th and Liberty between noon and 5:00 the second Sunday of each month for this street fair), checked out some businesses and eateries unfamiliar to me, and usually ended up with a StreetPop at their shop on the north end of Main.

Laura Chenault has been the organizer of the SSOM Chef Demos for the last five years, and it was through this series that I met her and learned about her new business, a "flexible event space + urban kitchen" called Pallet23, which has hosted, among other food events, pop-up dinners by Jose Salazar as well as Diner en Noir, organized by Rom Wells and featuring the dish at the top of this post created by Jackson Rouse (wish my photo did better justice to it). Great collaborations!

I hinted on fb that I had an announcement coming up. If you (like my parents) were wondering what the heck I was talking about, here it is. Laura reached out to me for assistance now that she must tend to her new business. Wearing my hat as a Slow Food Cincinnati board member (I'm the Communications Chair), I will be pitching in as a volunteer organizer for this year's Chef Demos, along with friends, Slow Food compadres, and the delightful Cat Amaro of The Birdhaus, which hosts fun out-of-the-box classes with local entrepreneurs of all sorts.

Please join us tomorrow!

Slow Food Dinner at Jean-Robert's Table May 15

Big news! Slow Food Cincinnati is partnering with Jean-Robert's Table for a very special dinner May 15. The Ark of Taste is a Slow Food program that aims to preserve and promote heirloom vegetables, heritage livestock breeds (such as the Red Wattle pig, raised locally by Dean Family Farm), and other threatened culinary species. Only the best-tasting endangered foods make it onto the Ark! Thanks to the dogged efforts of my fellow board member Jay Erisman over the last two years, Slow Food Cincinnati has succeeded in getting another local foodstuff accepted to this roster: the American paddlefish!

Based just across the river in Bellevue, KY, Renée Koerner raises this relative of the sturgeon at Big Fish Farms on a sustainable model where the paddlefish feeds on naturally occurring plankton and the farm uses no additional food, improves the quality of the water, harms no other fish, and provides excellent meat as well as caviar.

To celebrate the acceptance of American paddlefish onto the Ark of Taste, Jean-Robert de Cavel will create a four-course dinner highlighting the paddlefish produced by his long-time friend Renée Koerner (including caviar and smoked and fresh fish) Wednesday, May 15, at 6:30 pm.: $90 per person including wine pairings, tax, and gratuity. You can find more info on Slow Food Cincinnati's facebook page. But to secure your reservation, you MUST call Marilou Lind at JR's Table, 513-621-4777. The event is open to all.

Renée's paddlefish is prized by other top local chefs as well, and I've been checking them out whenever I've had the opportunity this season. Chef Stephen Williams of Bouquet featured it in the amazing dish at the top of this post, with mushrooms, buerre blanc, and beets that turned the accompanying couscous a rosy pink.

And to kick off the dinner celebrating Orchids' fifth year as Cincinnati Magazine's "Best Restaurant" in the city, Chef Todd Kelly offered up this spectacular "fried" egg with lobster salad and Big Fish Farms caviar cream.

We can't wait to taste what Jean-Robert will do with this very special ingredient. Check out this video for more about Renée's paddlefish caviar adventures, and call to reserve your seat at Table before this event sells out!

CHEESE Dinner at Local 127 Sunday Night

Chef Steven Geddes hasn’t changed his focus on local food, although he has changed up the schedule at Local 127 (now located in the former Jean-Ro’s Bistro space at 413 Vine St., across from the Westin). The restaurant is now open only one Sunday night a month, for a prix-fixe dinner shining a special spotlight on artisanal foods and nearby food producers. This Sunday’s dinner will feature Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheeses: Here's the four course menu for $45 (wine pairings available for an additional $20):

1st course: Potato Skins, Reserve White Cheddar Cheese Whiz, Crispy Pork Belly

2nd course: Havarti Soup, Heirloom Tomato, Pistachio Pesto

3rd course:
Chicken Saltimbocca, Smoked Gouda, Prosciutto and Sage Jus

Short Ribs, Kentucky Rose Fondue, Red Onion Jam

Potatoes Au Gratin, Tomme de Nena, Preserved Lemon Gremolata

Roasted Corn, Norwood, Lime Juice, Herbs

4th course: Barren County Blue Cheesecake, Apricot Mostarda, Whipped Cream

The seeds of the new Sunday schedule grew from a June event co-sponsored by Local 127 and Slow Food Cincinnati. In the afternoon, Chef Geddes and the ubiquitous Justin Dean did a pig-butchering demo in the restaurant’s dining room. (Yes, dining room.) It drew a substantial crowd of local foods enthusiasts, as well as Cincinnati chefs including Jose Salazar of The Palace, Julie Frances of Nectar, and Brendan Haren of Orchids. It took a couple of hours for Justin and Chef Steve to break down the heritage pig provided by Napoleon Ridge Farm. (Anyone who wanted to stick around could also watch them dispatch a pig’s head into its useful components.) At 6:00 the doors reopened for a sold-out pork-centric dinner, at which Slow Food Cincinnati presented Local 127 with its first “Snail of Approval” award.presented Local 127 with its first “Snail of Approval” award.

Chef Geddes was on the advisory board for this year’s “Made in America” American Treasures Awards. Although the website spells our city’s name with too many n’s and t’s, Geddes is getting the word out about some of our region’s best food producers – and, he says, taking his own stuffed local pig faces wherever he travels as a food ambassador. Two of his nominees, Carriage House Farm, in Northbend, Ohio, and Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, in Austin, Kentucky, received awards this year. That's such a big honor that Richard Stewart of Carriage House Farm traveled to D.C. to accept his on the 4th of July.

Chef Geddes is committed to working with local and regional food producers in everything he puts on a plate at Local 127. But the format of these Sunday dinners gives him a unique opportunity to share his passion, acknowledge local food folks, and just plain have fun. On these Sunday nights, diners are seated at communal tables and food is served family style (in dishes to be shared by everyone, not individually composed “restaurant” plates). You never know who you’ll meet, or who you’ll want to meet again.

Before dinner Geddes speaks to the group about how and why he came to be in Cincinnati. In his booming voice, he is happy to share the story of his early days in the flatlands of Colorado, where his grandparents farmed. After spending much of his life in arid Las Vegas, he found what he’d been seeking when he discovered the bounty of the Ohio River Valley foodshed (which includes both sides of the Ohio River). He introduces the evening’s menu, then opens the floor for the featured guest to talk about what they do, like Richard Stewart of Carriage House Farm at the second dinner in this series.

And then you eat. Oh, my, do you eat! Many of the “courses” at the previous two dinners have included multiple, generous offerings, like these from the Carriage House Farm dinner last month.

Chef Steve always likes to start with a sampling of pickled and cured items. And I always dive right into them without taking notes about the culinary details.

Smoked trout

Pork terrine with potato salad

Chicken wings

This appetizer, featuring pickled nasturtium seed pods from Carriage House Farm

 that taste like capers, was one of my favorites of the night.

Those four dishes were just the first course. Here's the second.

Potato soup with salsa verde and nasturtiums. Velvety and delicious.

The fourth, or entree, course was another bounty of dishes featuring Carriage House Farm offerings and other local goodness.

Confit chicken with Sheltowee mushrooms and thyme jus

Roasted pork from the "Porkopolis" plate, 

a constant but always changing feature on Local 127's regular dinner menu 

featuring Chef Steve's love of heritage pork and pork preparations

Sides included a risotto made of Carriage House Farm wheatberries, a collaborative dish of wilted greens, and an amazing cheese-filled Johnny Cake that was another of my personal favorites. 

And then there's dessert.There's always dessert.

Buttermilk panna cotta over spiced bush berry brumble.

That’s Carriage House Farm’s bee pollen on top.

I'm a cheese lover who isn't going to pass up the opportunity to taste what Local 127 will do with Kenny's Farmhouse cheeses this Sunday night. I discovered Kenny's Farmhouse Cheeses a couple of years ago at Kentucky Crafted, and am delighted to find they are now available at many Greater Cincinnati farmers markets (including Bellevue Farmers Market in front of the Party Source) plus Picnic + Pantry in Northside and on restaurant menus at Bouquet and Virgil's.

Call Local 127 to make a reservation at (513) 721-1345. I'd love to share a table with you.