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| Marcus Samuelsson @Macy's Lenox Square. James Camp/Macy's |
Chef Marcus Samuelsson is one of the most exciting
personalities in food and media today. In my opinion, his unusual biography – born in Ethiopia, adopted into a middle class Swedish family,
trained as a chef in Europe, a successful career as an American chef, restaurateur and media personality, makes his
perspectives on food and culture just that much more interesting. Add to that
the fantastic food this energetic chef produces and it’s hard not to pay attention
when Chef Marcus cooks…and speaks.
I had the opportunity last week to meet with Chef Marcus on
his visit to Atlanta and ask him a few questions. Macy’s Culinary Council
brought him to town to cook a Game Day menu at its Lenox Square store. Before
he took to the stage, he kindly answered a few questions. The publicity person
who arranged the interview requested no personal questions, so that left just
politics, which segued quite neatly to religion.
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| Marcus Samuelsson @Macy's Lenox. James Camp for Macy's. |
Samuelsson cooked for the Obamas’ first state dinner at the
White House a few years ago, and in turn, he has hosted them at his Harlem
restaurant, Red Rooster. He shared that the President’s favorite dish is the
spicy cornbread with honey glaze served with lots of butter and tomato jam. As
for his thoughts on the First Lady’s impact on food, “I think she could have
picked any subject to focus on and she chose food,” he said. “She unified the
chefs and stakeholders to provide better food for children and families.
“Food-wise, we’ve come far and we have a lot of challenges
ahead of us. We’re off to a great start.”
Samuelsson used a phrase I love ~ “eating with a spiritual
compass” to describe a lifestyle of awareness of the provenance of our food and
the responsibility that comes with consuming it.
“Spirituality and food are connected,” he said. “Throughout the world, through every culture and religion, there are times for fasting, then times of celebration and sharing.” Chef Marcus will fast, he says, by not eating meat for a few days, and other practices of moderation.
“Spirituality and food are connected,” he said. “Throughout the world, through every culture and religion, there are times for fasting, then times of celebration and sharing.” Chef Marcus will fast, he says, by not eating meat for a few days, and other practices of moderation.
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| Marcus Samuelsson at Macy's Lenox. James Camp for Macy's. |
Eating with a spiritual compass also entails being a good
steward of the food that’s provided, and that means taking care with leftovers.
The recipes he shared during his kitchen demonstration were examples of his “Poor
Man’s food” fancied up for the restaurant. Crab cakes, using potato to stretch
out the precious crab meat; New Orleans-style dirty rice making use of leftover
shrimp, sausage and what-have-you; and his Fried Yard Bird, a spicy fried
chicken so darn addictive there can not possibly be leftovers.
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| Marcus Samuelsson @Macy's Lenox. James Camp for Macy's. |
The crab cakes that Chef Marcus cooked at Macy’s were
outrageously good ~ the grapefruit supreme and frisee salad cut through the
rich mayonnaise and crab cake. This is ritzy Game Day fare, but it’s perfectly
portioned and very satisfying.
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| Crab Cakes with Chipotle Mayo and Citrus Salad. James Camp for Macy's. |
Crab Cakes with Chipotle Mayo and
Citrus Salad
2 red grapefruit (garnish)
Supreme the two grapefruit by slicing
off the top and bottom of each with a sharp knife. Using a paring knife, slice
down the side of each grapefruit to remove all the rind and pith. Remove each
grapefruit segment without the pith and skin and set them on a plate. Reserve.
Chipotle Mayo
2 tablespoons almonds, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 chipotle peppers chopped
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Juice from 2 limes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Put the almonds in a dry
cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Shake the skillet and let the almonds toast
for 1 to 2 minutes, just until they take on a golden color and smell fragrant.
As soon as you smell them, turn the almonds into a medium mixing bowl and let
them cool for a moment or two. Add the remaining ingredients, seasoning with
salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Crab cakes
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and
cut into quarters
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons mint, chopped
1 teaspoon mild chili powder
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 pound jumbo lump crab meat
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup bread crumbs
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
3 limes, cut into quarters for
garnish
Bring the potatoes to a boil in
water. Add the garlic and let simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid and mash
with a fork. Let cool down.
Mix the chili powder, salt,
cilantro and mint in a bowl. Add in the mustard, pepper, mayonnaise, mashed
potatoes and crab meat and toss quickly. Make the crab cakes 2 inches round and
1 inch thick.
Mix cornstarch and bread crumbs
and lightly dredge each crab cake in the mixture. Heat 3 tablespoons of the
olive oil in a pan set over medium heat. Fry until golden brown, about five
minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels; serve.
Citrus Vinaigrette
1 shallot
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon sesame seeds,
lightly toasted
1 to 1 ¼ cups extra virgin olive
oil
Freshly ground black pepper to
taste
6 cups frisee
Finely chop the shallot.
In a bowl, add the kosher salt,
then pour the balsamic vinegar over it and whisk to dissolve the salt. Stir in
the orange and lemon juice, and add the chopped shallot.
In a sauté pan, over medium high
heat, lightly toast the sesame seeds for 3 minutes. Remove the sesame seeds
from the heat.
Slowly drizzle the olive oil into
the bowl with the salt, vinegar and juices. Whisk the mixture vigorously as you
pour the oil into the mix. Continue to whisk until the vinaigrette emulsifies.
Add the toasted sesame seeds and the freshly ground black pepper to taste and
whisk again for a minute. Toss frisee with vinaigrette.
Plate the crab cakes on top of
the frisee salad. Top crab cake with a dollop of the Chipotle Mayo and a couple
segments of grapefruit with each serving.
Yield: 6 servings.
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| Crab cake. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
Recipes provided by Chef Marcus
Samuelsson.
Many thanks to Macy’s for the
pictures from the event.
I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere provided me with compensation for this post about Macy's Culinary Council. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.
I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere provided me with compensation for this post about Macy's Culinary Council. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.
This post is part of #LetsLunch a
monthly Twitter party of writers and cooks all over the world. This month’s
topic was TV snacks, in celebration of hostess Lisa Goldberg’s Australian Open
viewing party. Check out the other stories and recipes from the #LetsLunch crew!
Lisa’s Sausage Rolls at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Cheryl’s Mongolian Buuz at A Tiger in the Kitchen
Cheryl’s Mongolian Buuz at A Tiger in the Kitchen
Grace’s Taiwanese Beef Sliders at HapaMama
Jill’s Spiced Pecans at Eating My Words
Karen’s Sporting Eats at GeoFooding
Rashda’s FInger Licking Good Curried Ribs at Hot Curries & Cold Beer
Rashda’s FInger Licking Good Curried Ribs at Hot Curries & Cold Beer
Emma’s Super Bowl Wings Two Ways at Kitchen Dreamer
Annabelle’s Idiazabal and Black Pepper Gougeres at Glass of Fancy
Sonja’s Sticky Ginger Beer Chicken Wings at Foodnutzz
