Is The Power Lunch Passe?

 One of the most intriguing things about business history is the power lunch.It was a great way of brokering deals over good food and drinks at fancy restaurants. Yet is it relevant, especially in these post pandemic days?

Regular contributor Brett Anderson explored this in today's New York Times Food section.Power lunches usually lasted from twelve noon to almost three PM,Many used it as a chance to work and socialize, as they had for decades.Then came the pandemic which upended the restaurant industry. The business lunch was one of the first victims.There was continued uncertainty as workers left and customers fled. Most high end eateries are struggling, especially in cities that experienced record job growth after the Great Recession of 2008. That stimulation triggered the opening of many restaurants in cities across the country. Now workers are either working fully from home or spending one or two days in the office. They're not thinking of power lunches, Mostly it;s salad or take out at home, in front of their computer screens.There's also the rising cost of food that's also a factor and paying chefs twenty-five dollars an hour as Mitch and Steve Rosenthal have done with their San Francisco restaurant Town Hall.

Prices are high, especially in expensive cities like Manhattan.Even though the famed Le Bernardin has been filled to capacity every lunch hour for weeks, it still is $120 for  a prix fixe meal.  Lunches haven't resumed at other high class New York places such as Per Se, Eleven Madison Park and Jean-Georges.It does take work as chef Greg Higgins has found out at his namesake restaurant in downtown Portland Oregon. However it's changing in the suburbs. The Detroit  area businesses run by Sami Eid's family are thriving.His family restaurant Phoenicia a Lebanese eatery in Birmingham, Michigan opened as quickly as possible when it was OK to . However his restaurant Leila, a mere three blocks from the Quicken Loans Detroit headquarters didn't do well. Smaller places do better.People are reconnecting but at a slower place however as one restaurant owner, Ahmass Fakahany has noticed at his Manhattan place, Marea. They're looking at lunch to deepen relationships.It's more of a social impact lunch.

The power lunch may be taking a break.It may come back but in a different way. Workers still have to eat , deals still have to be made. but maybe in a whole new way,

An Old Fashioned Summer Birthday

 Summer birthday's are always special. It's a day full of sun, sand and presents. Not only that it's full of fun food , classic fare that works well no matter what age you're turning.

Of course a warm weather birthday means one thing - barbecue. Two of the most classic dishes to serve are hamburgers and hot dogs. These are perfect because they're easy to make and are always a crowd pleaser. Hamburgers could be homemade or bought in cases like the Bubba Burger. A traditional hamburger recipe starts with lean ground beef mixed with Worcester sauce and garlic powder. You can add a beaten egg along with bread crumbs for more body and chopped onion for more flavor.(this last will give it the same flavor as what you get at Mc Donald's ).Already made burgers, including the vegan Beyond Beef ones are also a good choice and an easy cook on the grill. For a birthday party, have a fixings bar that has sliced onions , tomatoes, pickles and lettuce. You could also add already cooked bacon to this and slices of cheddar cheese. Create  a special sauce like Burger King and McDonald's .This is easy blend of ketchup, mayo, swee t pickle relish and white vinegar.A tiny pinch of sugar is also added. As for the hot dogs, these are just fine grilled plain. You could brush them with melted butter before cooking for a crispier texture.

Sides should be the classic potato salad along with three bean. The first should stick to tradition, with the potatoes being mixed with  chopped celery and hard boiled eggs. Dress in mayo and season with a little bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Three bean salad can be made of the birthday celebrant's favorite beans, A popular mix is kidney, garbanzo or chick peas and white cannellini beans. The dressing is a sweet and sour one, made with oil ,apple cider vinegar and a bit of sugar or honey. A fun classic barbecue treat are devilled eggs. It's not only a tasty party food but is a perfect appetizer for a barbecue. A summer birthday demands for an ice cream cake. This can be made two ways . You can bake a cake and then layer on ice cream as the filling. Frost with whipped cream. The second recipe is pure ice cream layered with a crunchy mix of Nabisco chocolate wafers crushed and mixed with melted butter.Layer this and one or two flavors of ice cream before freezing. Add sprinkles  for a more  festive touch before serving . End the party with s'mores under the stars. 

A summer birthday party should be full of good classic summer time barbecue foods. The grill should be fired,. There should be favorite and easy to make salads. Dessert should be  spectacular with large slices of ice cream cake followed by s'mores.It's a birthday wish come true,

Who Is David Burke?

  You  probably have heard the name David Burke if you live in New Jersey and eat out a lot. He's becoming more and  more prevalent as he opens up tons of restaurants across the Garden State. Will he be the next Bobby Flay or Lidia Bastianich with a culinary empire?

Chef Burke is amassing a mighty empire of interesting and varied restaurants.He has one in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia along with two in North Carolina and three in New York State. However it's his home state ,New Jersey that has the most and the most varied menus. You can go to  Son Cubano in West New York, get a great view of Manhattan and have such Spanish and Hispanic  influenced mainstays  as  paella and empanadas.Then there is Morristown's 1776,  the name a nod to the town's major involvement in the Revolutionary War.This is modern American fusion food, that features hamburgers made with aged beef to a wide assortment of sushi rolls. He has appealed to brides and grooms by opening up Orchard Park at the elegant Gilded Age looking  Chateau Grande in East Brunswick. The menu is trendy with date night specials and breakfast pizzas offered at brunch.His Fort Lee establishment Ventana's has a fusion menu of Cuban Asian and American dishes as well as entertainment, namely in comedy

The Jersey shore seems to be his mainstay since he is familiar with the area. he grew up in Hazlet where his early years were spent delivering papers. His restaurants span from Rumson to Sea Bright to the latest The Goat, The Greatest of All Times,  which features a wild mix of Nuovo Italian and traditional hamburgers, along with a twist on shrimp cocktail(it involves cucumbers. His latest acquisition is dear to my heart - the famed Dixie Lee Bakery in Keansburg. From the pictures, it's gone upscale with a cheery outside repainting that makes it look like an Amish barn. The inside seems redone too, with what seems to be mirrors added to give the main part a bigger look.However he's intent on making too SoHo or West Village for this predominantly red leaning area of New Jersey. He wants to bring sandwiches and gourmet coffee to the Dixie Lee, named for Bing Crosby's first wife Dixie Lee, a popular  actress.when the Slovenz family opened it up in 1933. There are also going to be salads too and even baking classes. Is this too much for a bakery who sold such deliciously homey goods like their onion rye bread and chocolate dipped butter cookies?

Who is David Burke then? He's the man behind some of this state's great restaurants. Let's hope he keeps up this winning streak of successful eateries  while keeping in mind his roots.

YOur Very Chill Salad Bar

Sadly the pandemic closed a lot of those all ypu can eat buffets. One of the highlights was making your own salad, It was customizing a bowl of greens and creating something tasty and refreshing. You can easily replicate this at home.

Start with greens. I bought these mixed Spring greens from Target and really love the mix of textures and flavors.

It proved to be the perfect base for a salad that was rife with these tomatoes,also bought at Target. They're Roma which makes for a sweeter and fleshier slice.

I usually add olives but these artichokes hearts,another Target brand and chickpeas looked so good. I couldn't resist.

Once you have the tomatoes and lettuce base you can add anything. Try cold shrimp or leftover roasted chicken. Use that leftover grilled steak or London broil cut up into strips. Add some baby carrots and bean sprouts. Fruit is allowed. Try a handful of blueberries or grapes for some fun sweetness. Add crunch with almonds, and pecans mixed with croutons. 

What about dressings? Again get creative.

You can go with a simple olive oil and vinegar. If you want a traditional vinaigrette go with a red wine vinegar. Add traditional seasonings like oregano and garlic.  For a fruitier one sub in apple cider vinegar mixed with crushed strawberries. I like a good homemade French dressing.It starts with one of my faves, Hellman';s vegan mayo mixed with ketchup. Olive oil and a dash of apple cider vinegar is whirled in to create a creamy texture and tangy taste.
 

It's too hot to cook. Create a fun, creative salad, using the basics and imagination. You'll come up with one cool meal.

A Light Summer Dessert

 One of the yummiest and lightest desserts is chocolate mousse>it's like a puff of sweet air in the mouth>it's silky and airy, perfect for summer. its a great end to any summer meal.

Food writer and regular contributor Genevieve Ko wrote about this classically French dessert in Wednesday's New York Times Food section.Mousse is the perfect end to any hot weather meal.It's light , not dense like cakes and cupcakes, and doesn't heave an aftertaste like ice cream does. She looks to French home chefs for the recipe where it's treated the same way American home chefs treat their chocolate chip cookie recipe. The recipe followed is usually on the back of cheap candy bars.Every family has one. It's not the elegant dessert we have elevated it to. Order mousse in a restaurant and it comes in a martini glass, , topped with whipped cream, chocolate curls and a sprig of mint. In France it's served like any family dessert in a big bowl where people can scoop out as much as they like.It's also not perfect, The French sometimes leaves pockets of  unblended egg white that can be easily mixed in.

Ms. Ko received the recipe from her Gallic friend , Cecile. Hers has foamy egg yolks and extra airy egg whites. The eggs should be completely separated in two bowls so not to have yellows in the whites and vice versa.Mousses should have richness , some add butter but this will make the texture too dense. Ms. Ko advises stick with a heavy cream. Of course chocolate is a big ingredient. Use a dark chocolate meant for eating or confections and not baker's chocolate. The last has a higher proportion of cacao solids which will make for a dense and possibly gritty mousse. Use a bar with a seventy to seventy-four percentage cacao however you can use the one you love to eat. It'll make for a tastier flavor.Cook the chocolate and cream together and then add the egg yolks afterwards one yolk at a time. The whites should have been whipped in a standing mixer . Sugar is added to them to create a meringue. Fold the two mixtures together using smart gentle folding.Fold the whites over the chocolate and don;t over do it. It will give you a light texture. Run the bowl clockwise for even folding and mixing.

A good summer dessert should be airy and light like this mousse. Try it for a lovely , fluffy bite. It's the perfect end to any not weather meal.

A Cup of Tea And Kindness

With everything that's going on it'snice just to offer a cup of tea and kindness. If you have a neighbor ,friend or family member who just wants to talk let them. Brew up a cup and let them express their thoughts and feelings.

This is what we need to do these days. We are a country - a world divided and we need to close up those rapidly opening seams. We need to be more understanding to the other side as well as those close to us.Food and drink brings us together. What tea works? Any one. Try a fruity one like Celestial Seasonings lemon zinger or their peach ones. Peppermint tea is also good, not just for soothing hurt or anxious feelings but for calming an upset stomach. Inviting someone over for a cup of tea is great if he or she wants to our their heart out. However a thermos of tea, especially iced works as well. Go to the beach or the park. There's something beautiful and distracting about nature whether it's waves crashing on the shore or looking up to see trees gently waving their branches.Of course coffee is always a good drink to have. Don't discount going out for a decadent cup of iced coffee. There's always Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts to supply you with a creamy , caramel or chocolate laced iced java. Even just a latte is a great boost. Sip and talk at a table or on a bench. You can also head to the park where it;s quieter and you have some privacy.

It's not just a cup of tea that's comforting. Kindness can be inviting someone over for a barbecue or a lovely meal eaten outdoors.The person may want to eat , especially comfort foods. Make hamburgers and hot dogs. Grill some veggies. Make that ultimate  comfort food s'mores. There is nothing more soothing than that yummy mix of toasted marshmallow oozing onto melty chocolate a top a graham cracker. Make it truly indulgent by using chocolate graham crackers and good dark chocolate. You could also just toast marshmallows over a fire pit. Another  way is baking  to go with that tea. We're in the middle of fruit season and that means cobblers, and crisps. Bring over a peach cobbler or blueberry crisp. Cobblers are easy to make so even the most novice baker can create something near perfection. It's just combining milk flour and sugar and placing it over melted butter in a cast iron skillet. The fruit, usually peaches, is added to this and tossed about in the flour. It's put into the oven and baked until the batter turns brown and crusty. A crisp is similar except it has oatmeal and cinnamon in it.

These are tough times. We're at each other's throats more often than not. It's take to share a cup of tea - a cup of coffee or a meal and be there for each other.

From Home Chefs To Culinary Stars

 It's amazing how You Tube can raise the profile of anybody, especially the home chef. Now women in Arab countries are discovering the power of this platform as they share their recipes and heritage with the world.It's a chance to shine and expand the world's palate.

Food and culture writer, Reem Kassis wrote about this phenomena in today's New York Times Food section.Middle Eastern and North African women are generating extra income for their families as they show their recipes to the world. The kitchen has always been the heart of domesticity in their world.It's kept women tethered to it for millennia. Only twenty-five per cent of women actually work outside the . You Tube os changing that .It's changing the power dynamic for Arab women and turning their kitchens into a source of income and influence. Women like Heba Abo Elkheir started a YOuTube channel after her husband suggested it. She featured such classic dishes as basbousa - a sweet semolina cake and macarona bil bechamel a kind of baked mac and cheese.In less than three years she has amassed three million viewers becoming a top wage earner as well as being one of the top three women leading food channels on YouTube across the Middle East and Africa or MENA.

Ms. Abo Elkheir isn't the only one.Katrina Boukar is raking in money too. Her dessert videos are legendary with tons of viewers. They're simple and economical.  Her most popular video has more than sixteen million viewers. It was about a  three ingredient coconut macaroon inspired dessert. It was followed by a chocoflan and a cold brewed(!) pudding. She was going to give it up when she had her first born son but the child was diagnosed with autism., Her revenue from YouTube paid for his medications.Another successful home chef is Ola Tashman. A native Jordanian created her You Tube channel in 2018 when she was living in Saudi Arabia. She missed the traditional Eid cookies of ma'amoul (a date filled cookie) and her mother's recipe of shushbarak, a lamb dumpling cooked in yogurt sauce. The Syrian refugee situation has helped another You Tube chef,Muna Al - Amsha who fled the Syrian Civil War with her husband, They and their five children relocated to Kurdistan where she started a channel featuring all the recipes that Syrians around the world missed. It became wildly popular.

You TUbe is not only a great platform for chefs to show off  their recipes, it;s also a great way to earn a sizable income. For women of the Arab World ,it's a way to be successful and have a satisfying career.It combines the love of food with the need for recognition.