Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Be a Wok Star!

Jeff McInnis

Yardbird: Top Chef Jeff McInnis new restaurant

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I think Yardbird is going to be a huge success.  The whole cozy feel of Southern cooking and atmosphere is just what’s needed in the heart of South Beach! There’s even a wood deck with outdoor seating for people watching.
Chef Jeff McInnis looking very calm on his first night’s opening at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar.  I so enjoyed hanging with my foodie friends and thanks to Gretchen for inviting me. We sat at the high table with comfy bar stools so you can watch the chefs cook! Best seats in the house. Even though it was ridiculously busy, the wait staff were all very well trained and friendly. I can’t wait to try Cast Iron Chicken because as you know, I’m a HUGE cast iron wok advocate. Produce and meat are all sourced locally here and proudly stated on their website here.
I remember watching Jeff as a contestant on Top Chef.  Soon after, I went to see him “grill” Chef Tom Colicchio in an amusing interview session at Arsht Center in Miami. Next, Jeff was the chef who helped open up popular Gigi’s and asked if I wanted to ‘work’ one of the wok stations there when he found out I teach wok cooking!  He actually remembered our conversation last night.

Left: Meatloaf Slow Braised Short Ribs, melt-in-your-mouth tender & tasty bite!
Right: Ham wrapped peach, didn’t get to try this.

Very fresh & perfectly fried Catfish.  Deviled Eggs

Left: Smores, cupcakes, cookies. Right: Smoked Drumsticks were juicy, yummy!

Left: the crowd didn’t slow down at the bar!
Right: Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke photo slides to go with theme of Southern cooking!

Left: Chef plating my fav: Meatloaf made of Slow Braised Short Ribs!
Right: Mama’s Fried Chicken Biscuit (ID by Yardbird, thx!) with pepper jelly.
Didn’t get to try this.

All the details at the bar with the fixings were beautiful.  Showing all the wonderful food canning along the wall.

Goodie bag of Moon pie, pickled onions, bourbon and a calculator?

I love Jeff’s mission and what he’s trying to do with his restaurant!  You can read more about Yardbird here, here and here.  And here’s Gretchen’s writeup. Last but not least from one of my fav writers.

Well, good luck to Jeff’s first night (yeah, I got this up before he opens to the public tonight.) I’m all about supporting chefs who have the guts to open their own restaurant, it’s a tough business.

I was very honored Jeff’s mom emailed to say, “It was great to live it through your eyes!”

Like to hear what you ate?
Yardbird Southern Table & Bar on Urbanspoon

Keep Cooking Simple and Tasty (updated)

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From Martha Stewart (Everyday Food magazine and latest cookbook, Lessons & Recipes for the Home Cook) to Barefoot Contessa (new cookbook, Back to Basics) to Tom Colicchio (watch funny Diet Coke commercial on blog, Eatmedaily), many celebrity gourmet chefs are promoting simple cooking.
Why? Because they realize people cannot cook gourmet on a daily basis. We are talking about putting dinner on the table EVERYDAY and that’s what I focus on.
 
I’ve made wok cooking accessible to anyone, it’s not about gourmet/foodie/frou frou or tons of gadgets like Pampered Chef that make your head spin. Many of my friends are chefs and there are gazillion cookbooks with beautiful photos of sculpted dishes with tons of lovely recipes like Jaden Hair’s. Jaden is a food writer, photographer, TV personality and popular Twitterer. Her food blog, Steamykitchen needs no introduction. She was in Miami overnight, so I was lucky to get this photo of us at Oceanaire Restaurant in Brickell Village. I got to meet her whole family including her adorable boys, hubby included.
 
Since then, Jaden’s had her first Steamy Kitchen Cookbook published, congratulations. Oh, she also took all her own amazing food shots!! Sassy, humorous, strong minded but always have time to give advice, so when Jaden called me to talk about my Wok Star Kit, I was very honored.
Well, I didn’t realize she was going to include me in her cookbook (p.16 want to make it easy for you, ha) by name and list me as a resource (p.156) for preseasoned cast iron woks!!! She discovered my portable gas stove was more powerful than her regular gas stove! Having Jaden endorse my Kit and stove is huge, I’m doubly honored.
Jaden Hair’s Steamy Kitchen Cookbook available at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. It has all those wonderful recipes of simple Asian dishes that are easy to make that you all keep asking for.
And now you have my NO-RECIPE technique down, you can adapt it to any of her recipes.

When she comes to Miami for her book signing, I’ll be sure to let you know cause I want mine signed. Now, run out and get her book!
What I offer are solutions to many modern day issues, so I came up with a simple recipe-free technique to cooking and show how EASY it is for anyone to be a Wok Star! It’s all about changing your mindset and repurposing your time, so why not make it FUN and TASTY so you’ll look forward to it instead of dreading it?
Top Chef Judge, Tom Colicchio on Keeping Cooking Simple and Tasty
Tom Colicchio is my favorite chef because he is down to earth, has great values and doesn’t have an “attitude”. I told him as much when we had our photo taken together. He laughed and said, “I try,” (my husband’s favorite phrase.) By “attitude”, I mean chefs tend to use gourmet ingredients that us mere mortals cannot afford, find or have time to figure out what to do with.
The interview by Top Chef contestant Jeff McInnis (Dilido Hotel) at Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami last week was a clever spin because Jeff was voted off from the show, so he got to ‘turn the tables” and ask awkward questions. Tom handled it like a gentleman. The stage production was a bit disappointing because there were all the multi-media screens but were never used to show any footage to illustrate their points or gave me any reason to be there than what I could have viewed from my home (same thing with Anthony Bourdain’s interview.)
During the cooking demo, he stressed we should not be told what we should or should not eat by someone in a “white coat”. We should eat what we like and how we like it (what a Wok Star is all about!) He also mentioned to leave the food tossing in pans for TV and not focus on recipes. It was music to my ears when I heard him say to use just a few fresh ingredients and good seasonings.
Mark Bittman, The Minimalist, New York Times
I’m a big fan of Mark Bittman, especially when he responded, “actually very smart and good idea” to my solution for electric stove owners. My suggestion is to use a portable butane gas stove ontop of their electric stove for wok cooking. It’s how Asians cook at home and what I do in my cooking classes. It’s like an “AHA” moment when people see this simple solution.
I’ve posted several comments on two blogs recently. One is about “Chinese Cooking from Cookbooks” by guest blogger, Edward Schneider about Chinese cooking: “I tend to overdo things — too many ingredients, too many flavors, too much of this aromatic or that…” Read my comment #9.
Another comment #8 was a funny story about Ralph (my hubby) who loves my shrimp in their shells dish.
Here are some easy TIPS for cooking simple and tasty dishes:
Stir Frying Without Recipes
 
 
 
 
Use Seasonal Foods
 
 
 
 
Wok Up Your Own Creations
Most importantly, just start…
I encourage you to post your comments and share your trials and tribulations.
Your take on Tom Colicchio and Mark Bittman?