First of all, who is Marcus Samuelsson? You may have seen him as a guest judge on the T.V show Chopped, but do you know about his very interesting background? He was born in Ethiopia, but at the age of 3 he was adopted by a Swedish family. He was drawn to cooking after watching his adopted grandmother in the kitchen. He attended the Culinary Institute in Gothenburg and moved to the U.S in 1991. He soon became a head chef at one restaurant and started another at a young age. He now owns several restaurants in Chicago and New York and has received several awards for his food. He has also prepared food for President Barack Obama at a state dinner. He is a an adviser to the Institute of Culinary Education in New York and also serves on the Macy's Culinary Council.
Now a little bit about the special girl that received her wish. Her name is Sara Opsenica and she is a Chicago native. She is only 17 years old, but she has already had a great accomplishment: her Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma is in remission. Sara is very interested in becoming a chef herself one day and her wish was to be able to cook with one. Thanks to the Make A Wish Foundation, she was able to spend a whole day cooking with chef Marcus. She was his sous chef during the demonstration and she was also able to tour his Mac Burger restaurant. On to the review!
The first course was a couscous paella. This is chef Marcus' ethnic spin on traditional paella recipes. Normally paella is made with rice and can take a long time to make. This recipe is a quick alternative that doesn't skimp on flavor. The couscous had a very creamy texture, while the veggies and shrimp added some chewiness. There was also some chorizo that added a nice spice without making it too hot. Bailey thought that it was somewhat like gumbo with a creamier texture to it. Very delicious! This is a dish that you could curl up with on a cold day. The best part is that is only takes about 30 mins to make.
Cider pairing for paella: This dish has a bit of spice to it so you could go one of two ways with a cider. You could play it safe and drink a cider like Yakima Valley Dry Hopped Cider. This is a smooth cider that isn't going to butt heads with the flavors in this dish and may help level out the spice. You could also throw a party in your mouth and go for something that will complement the bold flavors in this dish with Peach Country. This is a sweet peach cider, but any cider with one bold fruit flavor would go nicely with the paella.
The second course was Swedish meatballs with carrot and apple mashed potatoes. This is one of the recipes that chef Marcus' grandmother used to make. It's a very authentic old country recipe that will stick to your ribs. The meatballs are glazed with BBQ sauce and you can use any kind you like. This way you can change the flavor a bit depending on the kind you use. The meatballs also have a nice texture because they are very soft and have other elements such as onion and breadcrumbs. The mashed potatoes offer a nice kick with fresh horseradish and apples. They are definitely not your everyday mashed potatoes and they are a great side for the meatballs. There are several really nice flavors that pop in these potatoes.
Cider pairing for the Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes: Since this dish is a bit sweet, you will want to pair it with something light and crisp. Bailey suggests either Unified Press or Uncle John's Draught Cider.
The last course was a Korean style beef short rib. This is a very simply recipe that allows the meat to marinate and soak up all the flavors before cooking. They are served with a piece of lettuce for a wrap which makes this a great finger food if desired. You can also serve them with kimchi for an extra flavor kick. The meat was very tender and the Asian style flavors were very vibrant within the meat. It does have a bit of heat in the flavor, but the lettuce does a good job of cooling it down. This recipe would be great as an appetizer for a party or as a main dish for dinner.
Cider pairing for the short ribs: If you want an extra zing and really love the flavor of ginger you could pair this dish with Angry Orchard Apple Ginger. However, Bailey would normally want something a little sweet such as Woodchuck Amber to balance out the spice.
So there you have it! Bailey was very happy she could make it to this event at Macy's on State Street to see a wish come true for a very brave Chicago teen. The food was also amazing and all of the recipes in this review can be found in Marcus Samuelsson's book: Yes,Chef. We hope you enjoyed this review and have a great holiday filled with family and food. In our next post, we will be looking back at a great summer cider as we wish for warmer weather here in Chicago.
Disclosure: I am a member of Everywhere Society and Everywhere provided me with the compensation for this post about Macy's Culinary Council. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.
