The Perfect Fried Rice

I have finally perfected my quest for the perfect home cooked fried rice! Okay, before all you Asian's start comparing my fried rice with your grandma's recipe from the Ming Dynasty - this is my version - and in my humble opinion, a pretty darn good one. I usually make my fried rice by sauteing day-old white rice with garlic and onions and then incorporating all the colorful ingredients like carrots, spring onions and anything else I have in the fridge that looks good.

A French chef, Jean Georges Vongerichten, of all people, inspired this bowl of Asian goodness. Chef Jean Georges' version is so pure in it's simplicity, adding anything else to the leeks, crispy garlic and ginger is pretty close to committing a culinary mortal sin - unless of course, you're Asian - and the temptation of adding one (or two) more ingredients to help bring back one's childhood days - is a temptation too good to pass up. So here it is, the Perfect Fried Rice according to Jean Georges and George.

Saute the garlic and ginger until crisp and brown. Pat dry with a paper towel and set aside.

On a separate pan, saute the leeks until soft.

Add the day-old rice to the leeks. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and salt to taste. Done! Place the rice in a bowl and top with the crispy garlic and ginger. And don't forget the fried egg to top off the dish. This is the Jean Georges' way.

For Chinese style, add some sauteed Chinese sausage which is absolutely a delicious ingredient.

Or for Filipino style, shred your left over chicken adobo (chicken cooked in garlic, bay leaves, soy sauce and vinegar) pieces and fry until crisp. The adobo flakes add a different dimension and texture to the fried rice plus it looks great on the plate.

So here is the evolution of the perfect fried rice. Let me know which one you like the best:

The Classic Jean Georges

The Filipino Fried Rice with Adobo Flakes

The French, Filipino & Chinese Fusion Fried Rice

 And the Classic George Fried Rice with all of the above and a perfectly cooked fried egg.

A Perfect Weekend Meal - Korean BBQ

My family finished off our week of home cooked meals with Korean bulgogi. With a portable burner and an Asian hot plate in the middle of the table, we all participated in the fun sport of table side barbecuing. It is so much fun to see your food cook in front of you - and trust me when I tell you that your kids will cherish these kind of meals at home.

I also made some lumpiang Shanghai (thin egg rolls), sauteed Korean-spiced okra, green beans and garlic rice. We engaged in discussion about the kids' childhood memories which concluded with our movie night of old family movies and a million shared laughs about the joys of being a family.

Friday Dinner: Vietnamese Pho

There's nothing better than a bowl of pho and my family will attest to that. The aroma of star anise, cinnamon, ginger, lime and home made stock is extremely satisfying. I made the chicken stock the night before to allow the fat to rise to the top and solidify inside the refrigerator. Then last evening, I simply separated the fat and reheated the stock with the aforementioned ingredients. In less than an hour, I have this gorgeous soup. I added cooked rice noodles, bean sprouts, shredded chicken (from chicken used to cook the stock), cilantro and a squeeze of lime. My wife said that it was the best pho I've ever made because of its nice balance of flavors. Enough said.

Check my previous blog entry for the recipe.

Thursday Dinner - Eggplant Lasagna

My wife comes from a family of fantastic Italian cooks. Her grandma, Celia, made the best sauteed sweet peppers in the world. Her father, Domenic, has such good instincts for cooking that everything he makes just taste impeccably perfect. From his leg of lamb every Thanksgiving to his green beans smothered in his homemade tomato sauce. Because of my wife's family affiliation, I have learned to hold up my end of the bargain with my Italian dishes. I must say that I make a pretty mean arrabiata sauce.

I made an eggplant lasagna this evening which my family truly enjoyed. My eldest daughter, Margaux, actually had second helpings. I started the dish by making a ragu of beef with celery, onions, peppers, garlic, carrots, red pepper flakes, basil, salt, pepper and tomato sauce. I layered the sliced eggplant, ragu and mozzarella in a baking dish and baked it for about 30 minutes. The end result is a pleasant, hearty meal for a cold winter's night.

Wednesday Dinner - Lettuce Wraps

A wonderful alternative to the fried egg roll is the lettuce wrap. My kids love the interactive nature of scooping the meat, placing it in the pocket of the lettuce and dropping this bulb of goodness in their little mouths. I love to use ground turkey for my stuffing because turkey soaks up all the flavors of the accompanying ingredients such as ginger, garlic, onion, soy sauce, sweet chili and cilantro. It's so easy to prepare and makes for a perfect and easy dish on a busy activity night for the kids.

Tuesday Dinner - Singapore-Style Fried Noodles

Here's another one of my favorite street food - Singapore-Style Fried Noodles with Chinese sausage, curry, peppers, onions, carrots and topped with a fried egg. Stir-fry the vegetables and set aside. Do the same for the sausage. Soak the noodles in hot water for about a minute and cool. Once the noodles are cool, stir-fry the noodles in oil for a couple of minutes. Add some soy sauce, curry powder, chile peppers and salt and pepper. Toss the Chinese sausage and vegetables with the noodles. Transfer to individual bowls and top with a fried egg (optional).

My kids love this dish. The fantastic thing about it is the kids can take it for their school lunch tomorrow. I place the noodles in a Chinese to-go box and they are good to go. And don't forget the chopsticks. It sure beats the hell out of peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Change By Design

One of my dreams for the JW is to see our creative efforts written about in a business book. We've had our share of publicity, but a book adds permanency to the unique experiences our guests encounters in the hotel.

I received a copy of Change by Design by Tim Brown from Steelcase's president, Jim Keane. I saw Jim at the Juice Ball and he mentioned it to me then. A few days later, a copy of the book is on my desk.

Tim Brown is the CEO and president of IDEO, ranked as one of the most innovative companies in the world. Apple's first mouse and the Palm V are two of IDEO's design ideas.

Change by Design, according to Tim Brown, is not a book by designers; this is a blueprint fro creative leaders seeking to infuse design thinking - an approach for creative problem solving - into all facets of their organizations, products, or services to discover new alternatives for business and society as a whole.

In talking about building an experience culture, Tim Brown states that "nowhere is the challenge of designing compelling experiences greater than in the hotel industry." He mentions Four Seasons Hotels' staff-training system which results in a service culture of anticipating guest's needs.

I challenge my team to design unique experiences for our associates and hotel guests. We ask our associates to give it that extra "one degree" to help distinguish our guest's experience from other luxury brands. The chef's office is one of those signature JW Marriott Hotels and Resorts' experiences. We use the chef's office as an extension of our dining room; our service culture. This is where we close the deals with our top clients or where our top clients entertain their most respected customers. We have fun with the chef's office and I can guarantee that our chef's thrive on this service differentiator.

Here's the excerpt from Change By Design: Executing the Idea

"On a recent trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan, my colleagues and I arrived in the arly evening at a new JW Marriott hotel. Expecting to grab something to eat in town, we were instead met by one of our partners from Steelcase, who informed us that arrangements had been made for us to eat in the hotel's "stateroom" - our chef's office. Images of the captain's table on the Titanic flashed through my mind. I began to feign symptoms of jet lag, but to no avail. We were escorted into the restaurant and then ushered through the serving doors into the kitchen, where we were greeted by sous chefs, pastry chefs, and waiters and led, finally, into the private office of the executive chef, where a table had been laid for us. We were deep in the inner sanctum, his private domain, surrounded by cookbooks, open wine bottles, favorite music, and all the clutter of a large-scale culinary operation. A perfect meal followed. We chatted with the chef about local produce, secrets of the kitchen, and tricks of the trade. I learned a lot about food that evening, but even more about design."

Monday Dinner - Argentine Choripan

My entire family got so hooked on choripan during our holiday in Buenos Aires last year so it didn't take much to excite them on our meal this evening. It is really a simple sausage (chorizo) sandwich with chimichurri on a toasted bun. Chimichurri is my favorite accompaniment for almost anything - steaks, burgers or even a dip for chips. And it's a piece of cake to make - chopped parsley, garlic (tons), red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. I then grilled the sausage mariposa style (butterfly), in this case, I used spicy Italian sausage, so it laid flat on the bun. I then slapped the sausage in between a mini baguette overflowing with chimichurri and finished it in a panini press. I tossed a simple green salad with a garlic vinaigrette. Yum and done!

Sunday Dinner - Chinese Hot Pot

As much as we enjoy dining in fine restaurants and ethnic joints, nothing beats good comfort food at home. I have decided that I will spend this entire week making home cooked meals, and at the same time, spend quality time with the family. Nothing too fancy. Just simple meals the whole family will enjoy. Yes, there will be shuttle runs to dance classes for the girls and basketball for my son. But I'm just curious how this week will turn out if I made a conscious decision to cook each day for seven days.  There won't be any dinner plans with clients or friends. No pizza delivery orders or quick chicken meals from the grocery store. It's about making good food and family conversation. Simple.

Sunday:

I couldn't think of a more perfect family meal than Chinese hot pot on a cold winter night. It's fun, engaging and delicious all at the same time. I made a Chinese hot pot broth with sliced beef round steak, tofu, green peppers, napa cabbage, portobello mushrooms, baby corn and broccoli. I also grilled some of the steak slices and accompanied it with hoisin sauce, rice and kimchi. To my surprise, the kids devoured the tofu. It's amazing!

The whole family actually sat down around the table for more than an hour. A feat given everyone's schedule. There is no question that family dinners should always be this way.

Saturday Afternoon Vignettes at Madcap

I just love this picture especially his shadow on the wall

The perfect cup of cappuccino

The bright sun through the window

A worker's bike

Shadows

This should be Pure Michigan's winter ad photo

Tasting at Madcap

Imagine Starbucks when it was only a single store trying to making a name for itself. The owner worked tirelessly at the store as a barista, a marketing exec and a pitchman. No international enterprise to deal with. No real worries about global coffee pricing. It's all about the coffee, the customer and the experience.

This is Madcap.

Local food alchemist and dear friend, Lisa Rose Starner, invited me to a coffee tasting at Madcap one Saturday afternoon. I've been meaning to visit this java joint on the corner of Ottawa and Monroe center since it opened about a year ago. Local foodies swear by it. My friends from New York couldn't have enough of it. I must say that I was so pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed the experience and the buzz inside the cafe.

The coffee tasters circled around a tasting table on one end of the cafe. A young family with two little kids took their claim by the windows. Students with laptops perused their facebook accounts. A Korean guy who looks like he belonged in a Benneton ad lingered by the coffee counter with a friend. For a second, I thought I was in San Francisco, given the variety of people in the cafe.

For some reason, all these professional photographers were also gathered in one section claiming their spot in this esteemed hangout. There were a couple at the tasting, too. Shutter clicks were heard in every corner of this cafe. I didn't hesitate to pretend that I was one of them - and I must say - I did a pretty nice job with my photos (see next entry). The bright afternoon sun permeated through the many windows of the cafe on this afternoon. A perfect invitation for photography and reflection.

But Madcap is truly all about the coffee and the personalized coffee experience. Madcap builds relationships with coffee farmers around the globe even featuring the farmer's name on some of their bags of coffee. Don't expect clueless barista's here killing time in between classes. The staff at Madcap are well trained in the art of brewing and are genuinely passionate about their product. I regret taking this long to visit Madcap, because just like my New Yorker friends, I am looking forward to my next cup of coffee.

Birthday Party at The Winchester

There are several reasons The Winchester is one of my favorite pubs in Grand Rapids. First, the owners are such nice people (and one is a JW alum). Second, the service is friendly. Third, I love the atmosphere and the people who hang out here especially in the summer when the outdoor deck is open. Okay, the Sunday Bloody Mary bar is pretty nice with a cornucopia of hot sauces and horseradish. I haven't had the chance to dine here (except for a few bites of shared appetizers) but I do know that The Winchester supports local farmers and purveyors - a definite plus for me.

So I didn't hesitate when my designer friend, Ashley Cole, invited me to her birthday party at The Winchester. It was an intimate group of about 30 guests, but enough to fill the center aisle of the restaurant. I met up with other friends and also got introduced to several locals who are in the creative field with Ashley. Overall, a perfect party in a nice local setting. Stop by The Winchester on Wealthy st. and try the fish tacos with their famous bloody's.

eCoupled Wireless Technology at the JW Marriott

The JW Marriott Grand Rapids is collaborating with Fulton Innovation on outfitting our rooms with the eCoupled wireless power in our guest rooms. This video was shot at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week featuring the JW's furnishings and desk technology. Very cool I must say.

The Juice Ball 2010

Grand Rapids is very alive and kicking if the turnout for The Juice Ball at the JW Marriott is an indication. Over 1,200 guests packed the JW's International ballroom on the first weekend of January to help celebrate Chef Tommy Fitzgerald's 40th birthday and raise funds and awareness for Kids Food Basket. 


The evening started with a JW style "80's cafeteria food" dinner complete with a cafeteria line, plastic trays, community seating and the sexiest looking lunch ladies on the planet.  TV personalities' Emily Richett, Michelle DeSelms, Jennifer Pascua, Val Lego, Laura Velasquez and Lauren Stanton were the "sexy lunch ladies of the JW" for the dinner. And how can we forget the lunch lady head mistress of the night, Tommy Allen.  Chef Andrew Voss and his team created a phenomenal menu of buttermilk fried chicken, mac-n-cheese and the best tasting bacon-wrapped meatloaf on the planet. Over 200 guests contributed $40 for the meal with $10 going to Kids Food Basket. 


The Bimini Brothers performed a full-blown concert set to start off the evening. JW resident DJ, Todd Ernst, topped off the remainder of the party with his retro lounge tribute to the 80's. 


"I couldn't think of better place than the JW to host this event," says Bridget Clark Whitney, KFB Director. "We'll be back next year."


Chef Tommy was in his usual crazy self dressing up in a baby blue tux and a mullet for the dinner and partying in his Juice Ball chef's jacket and bike helmet (with attached handles) during the party.


"It was a killer way to kick off the year in Grand Rapids," says birthday boy Chef Tommy. "It's just ridiculous to see how many people turned out to support Kids Food Basket."


"The Juice Ball is going to be even bigger and badder next year," claims Chef Tommy. 


Thanks to Chef Tommy, Kids Food Basket volunteers and to the throngs of sponsors who contributed to the success of this bash. What started out as a small get together blossomed into the best fund raising party ever.