Eating & Drinking

Michael Lomonaco: "I Got Julia Child to Grill."

Michael Lomonaco_Formal_2.jpgChef Michael Lomonaco, noted for reviving the historic '21' Club before taking his talents to Windows on the World, opened his own restaurant, Porter House, in Manhattan's Time Warner Center in 2007. But what he really likes to do, it seems, is talk. Among his excellent stories: He got Julia Child to grill. For the first time. This weekend, you can hear those tales—and learn a little about cooking—at the New York Culinary Experience, a sort of fantasy camp for foodies happening at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan. (Alain Ducasse, David Bouley, and others are scheduled to teach as well.) Here, Lomonaco runs his mouth.

You're cooking a beef stew and lamb shanks at the New York Culinary Experience.
It's slow cooking. I asked them to start the class early so we have enough time.

Why is it called slow cooking when it takes so much time?
(laughs) Low and slow gives you the flavor! I woke up this morning and realized I'm doing old school slow cooking. A lot of chefs and restaurants are doing dishes like these, but using sous vide techniques. That's cool. But I'm cooking old school. There's no molecular gastronomy involved. Its just fire, man.

I like to make stew—because I can put it on the stove and get drunk while it cooks.
A lot of people will write dishes like this and suggest, "Hey, you can walk away from the pot." But I don't want them to walk away from the pot. I want them to stay with it and see the caramelization of the meat and smell it and understand it and hear it crackle.

When I was an up and coming line cook, I worked for Daniel Boulud. I saw Daniel gazing into the pot. And in the years that followed, I learned to gaze into the pot and use all of my senses. You want to make sure it doesn't boil too hard. Because we don't boil stews; we let them simmer. We don't boil them because they toughen. Because of what that does to the protein.

The stew calls for Yuengling. Why Yuengling?
Yuengling is a stout beer. It's called stout for a reason. It's the reduction of the liquid and the concentration of the hops that shines through.

If I make the recipe with wine, should I use good wine? Or any wine is fine?
Don't use a cheap wine when you're making a wine-based dish. Use something that you'll quaff. Quaffing is the baseline. If you'll quaff it, you could cook with it. If you won't, don't even bother.

A lot of people coming to an event like the New York Culinary Experience might want to change careers.
That's what I did. I was a struggling actor with a SAG card. I did seven years in the business—road shows, bit parts in movies, Off-Off Broadway, comedy troupes. I was 28 when I made the switch.

You made it under the wire! At the end of Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain says if you're over 30, it's too late. Do you agree?
It's a labor of love. If you're passionate, you'll find a place.

You've taught many aspiring chefs over the years. Any good classroom horror stories?
I taught at the New York City Technical College. There was the thing where people didn't take plastic wrap off of something. Or they put the rice in the pot, but didn't take it out of the box.

No way.
That happened!

You were on Julia Child's TV show Master Chefs. Tell me a good Julia Child story.
I got Julia Child to grill.

Come on.
She'd never done it before. She said [imitating her voice perfectly] "Oh, I've not done this!" That episode was filmed in her home in Cambridge, which was unbelievable. The home was decorated with Paul Child's paintings and the kitchen was rigged out to be a TV studio. And we go out back and get this big Weber grill. We did venison chops. We made our own duck sausage. We did marinated quail.

Did she enjoy it?
It was a windy spring day and she said, "Oh! The smoke is getting in my eyes!" You know, that kitchen is in the Smithsonian now.

You recently consulted on a steak house at LaGuardia Airport—at the Delta Terminal. How did that go?
It's called Prime Tavern. They're doing upscale. It's all fresh product, prime beef. The kitchen space is small and tight. But they put in the kind of broiler that I wanted for the steaks. And they have a guy with the experience I wanted. He trained here with us. I spend a couple of days a month out there. The first three days I was on the deep fryer. I was on the broiler, on the salad station. They were still hiring staff. And it takes time to get people through airport security.

Eating a steak before a long flight seems like a good idea. It'll put you to sleep.
You're not even going to get a bag of peanuts on a flight today. You might as well take care of yourself before you get on the plane.

You grew up in Brooklyn. In terms of food, what do you go back there for these days?
I go to Queen Anne in Bensonhurst to get ravioli.

It's the ricotta that they use. It's a small, family run pasta place. The factory is right there in the store. I grew up in Bensonhurst. Bensonhurst is not Williamsburg. But a lot of the guys with trendy Italian restaurants in New York buy bread from Royal Crown Bakery.

Do you have any unfulfilled dreams as a chef?
I always had a fantasy of having a food truck. It was going to be an escape hatch. I was going to have a food truck so I could get out of the basement and get outside.

You were ahead of your time!
I know. Everybody else has one now. I wanted a barbecue truck. But I think we'll do a steak truck.

Do it!
I'm not kidding.

Last question: Name three things are always in your refrigerator.
Greek yogurt. A big hunk of Parmesan cheese. And a bottle of champagne.

Beef and Porter Stew

Recipe courtesy Michael Lomonaco, Porter House New York

Serves 4 with planned leftovers

¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds beef chuck steak stew meat, or bottom round, cut into 1-inch cubes
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup peeled, diced onion
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
½ cup celery, peeled and cut into small dice
1 cup rutabaga (wax turnips), peeled and cut into small dice
1 cup peeled, diced parsnips
2 bottle, 24 ounces, stout porter-beer, such as Yuengling, or other dark beer
2 cups low-sodium, store-bought beef broth diluted with 2 cups water
Bouquet garni: 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs thyme, and 1 sprig rosemary tied in a cheesecloth bundle
½ cup canned, crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the oil and butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and heat it over medium-high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the pot in a single, not-too-tightly-packed layer and brown the beef well on all sides, approximately 8 minutes total. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.

2. Add the onions to the casserole and cook until golden and caramelized, approximately 15 minutes. Sprinkle the onions with the flour and stir to combine well.

3. Return the beef to the casserole, pour in the porter and broth, and add the bouquet garni, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 teaspoons of pepper. Add the carrots, celery, rutabaga, and parsnips. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and let simmer for 1 hour. Pick out and discard the bouquet garni.

4. The stew can be made up to 2 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat gently before serving.

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