Schmoozing, Noshing, and Kibbitzing at entre-SLAM

I attended the latest entre-SLAM last Thursday evening, and had a wonderful time meeting new friends and visiting with old ones.  I even missed the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee for this ... wow!

Jeremy was shocked to hear I was going out that night; he knows I'm a nerdy girl who actually listens to the preliminaries at work, since I can't be home to watch them live.  And I always watch the final round, trying to see how many of the words I can spell myself.  (Very few in the later hours, I have to admit, despite my English degree, despite being a naturally good speller, and despite having studied French, Latin, Italian, Russian, and Hebrew.  I have immense admiration for the kids who excel at this event!)

But spelling bee or not, I had such a good time at the April slam that my friend Marcie Greenfield (hostess extraordinaire of the walking tour company Savor Ann Arbor) and I signed up not only to attend the May session, but also to partake of the pre-event dinner with items that could be ordered and delivered from Mark's Carts.

Now, I could tell you that there were fabulous stories, inspirational stories, heartwarming stories, funny stories, and all sorts of other stories about entrepreneurs living the night's theme of "The Show Must Go On" ... and there were wonderful speakers, absolutely, sharing their experiences in the wild and wooly world of business ownership.  But you know me - I'm all about the food.  And there was plenty of it, including some amazing samples from some of the slam's sponsors.

So let's start with dinner, shall we? 

I visited Mark's Carts last summer, during their inaugural season; but there are new vendors at the food cart courtyard this summer - The Beet Box and A2 Pizza Pi among them.  And there's also Cheese Dream, whose "You Donno Jack" sandwich was calling to me as I perused the menu trying to determine what to order while registering for the slam.  This was a grilled cheese, nicely toasted and crisp, filled with Monterey Jack cheese, poblanos, and a generous helping of corn relish.  With this option, I could eat my comfort food and still get a serving of vegetables, too!

For dessert, I'd ordered a Mexican hot chocolate cookie from The Lunch Room, the vegan cart.  Jeremy and I had attended their pie party this past winter, so I can personally attest to how fabulous their desserts are.  And this crisp, chewy, spicy, rich, delicious cookie was just as amazing as every other treat I've enjoyed from them.  (It's pictured on a plate because I took it home - there were so many goodies that I simply couldn't eat everything in one evening.)

Marcie, who unfortunately suffers from a number of food issues, was giddy to have The Lunch Room's ice cream sandwich: decadent chocolate cookies filled with strawberry-flavored coconut milk ice cream that accommodated both her gluten and dairy intolerances.  She absolutely loved it, and insisted upon my taking its picture and showing it off in all its glory.

Hut-K Chaats, which offers "nutrilicious" Indian street food - healthier, with less fat and sugar than traditional recipes - was one of entre-SLAM's sponsors.  Owner Dr. Mahaveer Swaroop Bhojani, a cancer researcher whose passion is to feed people food that can also help to heal, was offering samples of Shanu Chaats: a fabulous, slightly spicy chickpea and potato dish topped with crispy rice noodles and multigrain chips.  I went back for seconds ... after eating dinner.  And Dr. Bhojani very sweetly made a special sample cup for Marcie, leaving the problematic chips out of the mix so that she could enjoy the rest of the dish.

I was also able to taste two treats from "The Kosher King of Ann Arbor," Emil Boch - another sponsor, with his catering company From the Hearth Food.  Emil and his beautiful and wonderfully friendly wife, Monica, were offering two delicious items, one savory and one sweet.  The former were small crisp and chewy breads topped with blue cheese (one of my very favorite foods) and arugula, which were wonderful!  The flavors weren't overpowering, and they blended very well together; even people who admitted to not being aficionados of blue cheese found these were deliciously addictive.  The sweet option, unfortunately, didn't photograph well in the - shall we say? - romantic lighting; but it was luscious enough to compensate for its lack of photogenic qualities.  It was a soft, biscuit-like shortbread topped with a white chocolate whipped cream and fresh strawberries ... sigh.

I was also thrilled to get more tastes of my beloved Iorio's gelato, which I'd just written up for a Frugal Floozie Friday post a few weeks ago.  This gave me a much-anticipated opportunity to meet owner Mary Lemmer (Iorio's Gelateria was another sponsor) and her friend Carrie, a fabulously enthusiastic store employee who even filled in for an absentee storyteller and participated in the slam.  I couldn't resist the dark chocolate variety, and Marcie was able to taste both the vibrant and luscious mango as well as another wonderfully fresh dairy-free offering - cucumber watermelon.

So, at entre-SLAM I met great new people, lined up a future interview, visited with friends, ate exceptionally well, and was highly entertained ... a great night, even if it didn't involve any spelling!  (And no, despite having been fluent in French before I proved the truth of "use it or lose it," I couldn't spell the winning word: guetapens.  A huge mazal tov to Snigdha Nandipati for being able to do so!)

It's not too early to sign up for the next entre-SLAM at Live Ann Arbor and to join founders Christa Chambers-Price and Jeannie Ballew for another fabulous evening of networking and encouragement on Thursday, June 28.  You can register here and choose whether to watch the festivities, tell a story, co-sponsor the event, partake of dinner, or some combination thereof.  entre-SLAM is a great local event supporting the community, nurturing businesses, and fostering friendships.

And the food is fabulous!

"The Kosher King of Ann Arbor"

I recently had a fabulous time talking with Emil Boch, chef/co-owner of From the Hearth Food - a catering service offering kosher, vegetarian and vegan dishes - and chef at the University of Michigan Hillel during the school year.  I'd heard only raves about the food Emil serves, including such stellar accolades as this one, from Jeannie Ballew of entre-SLAM:


"I truly can't say enough of this man's cooking.  It is ethereal, other worldly, intoxicating.  He uses only the freshest locally produced ingredients and produce and just seems to have a magical touch with every dish he prepares."

Wow.

So many people I know, from friends to acquaintances, were offering such extraordinary compliments about Emil's cooking - simple lunches at Hillel, take-home Shabbat dinners, catering options for special events - that I simply had to meet this man!

A native of Ortonville, Michigan, Emil is a proponent of the Slow Food movement and its dedication to sustainability, local sourcing, organics, and traditional handmade foods.  He engages in cheese making and charcuterie in his spare time, and received specialized training in Europe to further his knowledge of these hand crafts.  As the bio on his catering site states, Emil "draws inspiration from flavors of India, Latin America, France and Asia, but his style would be best described as New American."  Emil is influenced by many cultures and foods, and brings all of these together to create his own fabulous cuisine.

My friend Donna Shewach, one of Emil's most avid devotees, states that "Emil's cooking can be summed up in two words: simply delicious!  Everything he makes - from soups to main dishes, sides to desserts - is packed with flavor.  His creative use of seasoning and spices from all over the world make his dinners unique and irresistibly delicious ... always innovative and memorable."

Like so many others who are tremendously creative, Emil is a former art student; one of the reasons he left the art community, though, is because he felt he couldn't give up his pieces because of a deep "emotional attachment."  His high level of commitment now finds itself invested in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti community - good friends with many other restaurant and brewery owners, a regular chef at Selma Cafe breakfasts, and a volunteer with local food and farm projects.  From the Hearth Food will once again be one of many sponsors at this month's entre-SLAM, a networking event for entrepreneurs, being held at 7 p.m. this Thursday, May 31 at LIVE Ann Arbor (click here to register).

Emil was raised vegetarian and his mother cooked many ethnic foods, so he's well versed in specialized diets and a wide variety of flavors.  Although he's not Jewish, which enables him to work at Hillel during times when work is forbidden to observant Jews, Emil is considered "the Kosher king of Ann Arbor" for the inventive and distinctive dishes he has created in accordance with the dietary laws, as well as for his updates of traditional dishes.  (He can either cook in a home kitchen or in the Hillel kitchen, to certify kashrut standards.)

As Donna, an avowed foodie who keeps kosher, tells me: "When he catered dinner at my home, Emil was wonderful at accommodating all of our dietary preferences, including his delicious vegan dishes that the omnivores enjoyed too."  She also notes that while "Emil's dinners are exceptional by anyone's standards ... if you happen to keep kosher it's an added bonus" that this chef is skilled at preparing meals that go so far beyond the familiar chicken dinner or brisket.  Emil likes to serve "frat boy portions" that are extremely generous, which is great because Donna says "you’re going to want leftovers to enjoy the next day."

Emil is warm, friendly, and immensely likable - if his parking meter hadn't been on the verge of running out, we may very well have kept talking for another hour about everything from Jewish cuisine to the Pixies.  I normally need a flow chart to follow my own tangents, and Emil's quick thinking and gregarious nature even put me to shame!  Not only would you enjoy the food he prepares, but he would be wonderful to work with in planning an event, as well.

Emil very generously shared two different Jewish-influenced recipes: the Carrot Ginger Kugel pictured below and one for Home Cured Salmon, both of which would be perfect for light summertime meals.  From the Hearth Food's website also gives sample menus, to give an even better overview of his abilities and offerings.

You could prepare these dishes yourself, of course.  But as Emil says, because of his very small "family-type business," when you hire him you're "directly supporting" him and his wife and those he hires for events, rather than any large entity or corporation.  So why not let Emil cater a summer event - small or large scale - so you can taste for yourself the amazing dishes that Ann Arborites are so enamored of?


Chef Emil Boch
FromtheHearthFood@yahoo.com
734-645-7308

Easy Carrot Ginger Kugel

4 cups finely chopped carrots, peeled (5-6 medium-sized carrots)

1 cup finely chopped apple, peeled and cored (approximately 1 large apple)

1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

6 eggs

Preheat oven to 375F.  Grease a 9" round cake pan with butter or oil.

Process carrots and apple in food processor until finely chopped.  Add all other ingredients and process until well mixed, fluffy, and foamy.  Pour mixture into prepared pan(s) and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool slightly and serve warm, or chill overnight and serve cold.

Home Cured Salmon

1 whole side of salmon, 2-3 lbs

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

1 tablespoons pink peppercorns

1 tablespoons lemon zest

1. Place your salmon filet on a cookie sheet.

2. Rub filet on both sides evenly with the salt, sugar, lemon zest, and spices.

3. Place in a ziplock bag or "brining bag" and place in the refrigerator for up to 24-48 hours, turning over every 12 hours.

4. Rinse the salmon of all of the seasoning and pat dry.

5. Brush lightly with olive oil and garnish with fresh dill and tarragon.