Sunday Night Suppers - Food For All

This past week I had the great honor to be a part of an annual benefit that takes place in Washington DC. Sunday Night Suppers is organized by Chef Alice Waters, Jose Andres and my dear friend, Joan Nathan.  The event benefits DC Central and Martha’s Table, two of Washington DC’s largest food banks.

Together, these two organizations feed 5500 people 365 days a year, and the money we raise goes a long way toward helping them expand their programs in these trying times. This year there were 20 hosts who opened their doors to 20-40 guests paying $550 per plate. Each host is paired with two chefs to prepare the meal. Chefs are invited from all over the world. This year, I was paired with Chef Rob Weland and our hosts were Eric Michael and Craig Kruger. Eric is a partner in Occasions Catering - our guest of honor was Alice Waters.

<<Fresh churned and squeezed butter.

For me, it all began with a call from Joan telling me she was putting me and Rob Weland together and that Eric Michael would be the host. Joan felt it was a good match because Eric had a “green catering company" and Rob is a chef who is all about farm-to-table - all three of us are into sustainable issues. We exchanged a few calls before the holidays, and in early January, Eric sent me a list of fruits, vegetables and suppliers from the farmer’s market. Rob and I began to write up a menu. It was fairly simple in that we both were on the same page with items and preparations. Eric wanted to do fresh churned butter. I thought it was a brilliant idea assuming that raw milk is available and easy to secure in DC!

I was amazed and inspired by all that is available in the DC area this time of year! Baby cabbages, carrots, apples, salad greens, and radishes of every variety. I knew that oysters and scallops had to be included in the menu as I wanted that to reflect the abundance of where I come from - Martha’s Vineyard. The Vineyard, the Chesapeake Bay and Chincoteague Island are similar in their estuaries.  Also, oyster farming is bringing back the life to these waters. I wanted to do a test comparison. Rob wanted to do rabbit from Pecan Meadow Farm.

He also wanted to incorporate Tangerine Lace into the apple and radish salad.

(When I returned home to Martha’s Vineyard, I emailed Krishanna to tell her to be sure to add Tangerine Lace to her salad mix this coming season!)

Rob secured the cream for the butter.  I have to add that the logistics enabling us to procure the cream were not dissimilar to getting a beer during the days of prohibition. Eric secured an antique butter churn and we added a lovely addition to the menu; radishes with fresh churned butter!

<<I served a braised baby cabbage with seared Cameo Apples with marjoram and pecans - I crisped the outer leaves of the cabbage for variety and also because we were honoring Alice Waters and her edible school garden. Kids love anything crispy and so do adults. The crispy leaves added a nice surprise to the braised cabbage and seared apples.

I arrived on Tuesday which meant there were a few nights to visit some of the chefs at their restaurants for dinner.

Our first night, we ate at Rasika’s.

Chef Vikram Sunderam was one of the chef’s of Sunday Suppers. We wanted check out the menu and we were all in the mood for Indian food. The food was delicious. We ended up ordering too much bread and meat as we preferred the vegetable dishes. Vikram came out and we had a great discussion about sustainable meats and the upcoming events.

<<At Rasika with Chef Vikram Sunderam.

Thursday, I made a lunch at Joan’s for whoever stopped by. Joan’s house became the epicenter for the weekend event. Chefs from out of town began arriving. UPS deliveries and FEDEX packages arrived hourly! Joan’s garage became the grand staging area; a wine cellar, with boxes of wine and champagne, a walk-in cooler with everything from foie gras to truffles, and a storage area with piles of cookbooks sent ahead by the different chefs.

I sautéed some beet greens and bok choy and made a salad of citrus, beets, avocado and pomegranate. Joan made the most delicious bread and Cow Girl provided the cheese. We all felt the anticipation and energy rising for the weekend.

At the Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore with Alice Waters.>>

Thursday night we made a trek to Baltimore to dine at Woodberry Kitchen. What a great surprise. We loved everything! Enjoying a wonderful meal with our two European chefs, Elizabeth Borgeois from France and Benedetta Vitali from Florence, along with Alice Waters from Berkeley and of course Joan Nathan, made for a fun evening out with women.

<<Chef and owners of Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore. Spike and Amy Gjerde and their two kids with Joan Nathan and Alice Waters. We LOVED everything about the place! Spike was one of the chefs for the Sunday Suppers as well.Joan wanted make sure that Benedetta saw some of the Washington DC's monuments and attractions, so one morning we headed out and took a brisk walk around The Tidal Basin. I had not seen the Eisenhower Memorial or the Martin Luther King National Memorial.  Ahat a lovely memorial the Eisenhower Memorial is. I could have spent hours there.

On Friday night, I joined chef Alon Shaya of Domenica in New Orleans, Benedetta Vitali, Filippo Bartolotta of LeBecannti of Florence, Italy - we all went out to America Eats Tavern.  The general manager, Brian Zaslavhecky took very good care of us.  We had a great time and certainly were entertained by the menu items. Check it out of you are in DC, but it will be closing soon as it is an installation restaurant.

And there was a tour of the historic Pierce Mill, shopping at Wegman’s for many of the chefs, and brunch at Joan’s on Sunday, as well as shopping at the Dupon Market. It was non-stop food and acquiring food!

The dinners were a huge success. Many of us met up later at Comet Ping Pong for beer and pizza. I met up with Gina Stanley, from the Art Cliff Diner. She too was a guest chef, as was Teddy Diggs from the Homeport in Menemsha. We promised to reconvene in Chilmark upon our return.

I crawled into bed at 2:30am, was on the plane at 9am and home on Martha’s Vineyard 1:30pm. I was honored to be a part of such a grand event.

<<I couldn't resist taking this photo: two Spidermen on their hand held computers at the market!