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| The Chef's Challenge: Susan McCreight Lindeborg
By Emily Kaiser
The Washington Post Wednesday, October 29, 2003 To test the talents of our local chefs, we have challenged them to spend just $10 on a meal for a family of four. To see how they fare under normal folks' conditions, they cook the meal alone, in a home kitchen -- no staff, no restaurant stoves, no dishwashers. This week's challenge was undertaken by Susan McCreight Lindeborg, the chef at Alexandria's Majestic Café. Professional chefs are the world's greatest control freaks. Confronted with the hurdles of every restaurant day, chefs require exacting standards and an indefatigable will to get their way. But when they are taken out of their native environment, can their wills overcome the limits of normal life? Can they make something good yet cheap for a family dinner? "To do simple, straightforward food is the most difficult thing in the world," Susan McCreight Lindeborg said. "It's very hard for me to do home cooking. I don't ever give up on it, but I end up cooking in a restaurant style all the time." "The restaurant style is not very adaptable to the home kitchen, it's too huge," she explained. "You use a lot of pots and pans and bowls, you use a lot of spices and whatever other things you have around." Chefs need extra space and supplies to create the many flavors in their dishes. "As a chef, you're always asking, 'What more can I put in this? What more can I add to add more flavor?' " Lindeborg said. "My natural inclination is to be excessive. If there's one thing I do well, it's excess." Lindeborg has cooked all over the country, from New Mexico to Wisconsin. For the last 10 years she has been in the Washington area, first as Bob Kinkead's pastry chef, then as head chef at the Morrison-Clark Inn. For the last two years she has run Alexandria's Majestic Café. Lindeborg grew up in the eastern plains of Colorado and finds that "Washington is very much a southern town." She likes to reflect this in her southern-influenced cooking. She also draws on flavors from across the globe, from Mexico to Madras to Morocco. To meet our challenge, she headed to the Capitol Hill Safeway near her home for ingredients. In search of something healthful as well as inexpensive, she selected smoked turkey because it tastes as good as ham but with much less fat. Its mild saltiness inspired Lindeborg to design around it an Asian-style broth with vegetables, a "faux pho." With peaches on sale she would include a light dessert of peaches and sugar cookies. To build this menu on the fly, however, the shopping trip at first seemed something like combat, the produce foot soldier in an unexpected battle to create a workable menu. Lindeborg had many options to weigh, literally: if she took only half a pound of peanuts, that might allow her to buy bean sprouts as well as watercress. But should she buy a head of cabbage, or just one swet potato? She tore across the aisles to compare prices. In time her menu -- and price list -- took shape. "This is going to work! I'm getting excited about this," she said at last. Her selections tallied up to $9.43, if we charged her a couple of dollars for a few staples in her refrigerator and pantry. Lindeborg prepared her meal at her Capitol Hill home. She and her husband, Richard, live in a townhouse on a quiet corner in Southeast Washington. Cozy rooms are brightened by pieces from Lindeborg's antique linens collection and by paintings on the walls from friends. "This is where Richard does all the cooking," Lindeborg said with a laugh as she headed to the small kitchen in the rear. The room looks out onto a sunny garden. The appliances are all "civilian" -- no restaurant equipment in sight. The stove is a Maytag, and the refrigerator is "something we've been trying to break for years," Lindeborg said. She cooked with a calm intensity, chatting as she worked, and sometimes talking to herself to keep to her original plans. Although she had spoken earlier of her need for space and staff when she cooks, she did an enviable job of conserving and cleaning her space as she went. After decades of re-training sloppy line cooks, she clearly values tidy organization. She selected some of her nicest china to serve her meal -- "it shouldn't have to look cheap!" she laughed. Asian-Style Noodle Soup (6 to 8 servings) When there is no homemade chicken stock on hand, Susan Lindeborg, of the Majestic Cafe in Alexandria, relies on a smoked turkey leg or ham hock to lend depth to a soup. For the stock: 1 smoked turkey leg or ham hock 1 medium onion, roughly chopped 1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped 3 scallions (reserve the rest of the bunch to use raw as a garnish) 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped (optional) 1 bay leaf (optional) 1 teaspoon peppercorns (optional) 8 to 10 cups water For the vegetables: 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice 1 tablespoon olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder or pinch each of ground cumin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg (optional) 1 bunch watercress, rinsed Reserved scallions, ends trimmed 2 cups bean sprouts To finish: 8 ounces spaghetti, udon or other similar noodle Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped 1 cup roasted shell-on peanuts, shelled, or 2 tablespoons shelled peanuts Hot chili oil or toasted sesame oil to taste For the stock: If using turkey, remove the skin from the leg and place it in a large stock pot. (The skin will give flavor and the fat can be skimmed off the surface of the stock later.) Remove the turkey meat from the bone and set aside. Place the bone in the pot. If using a ham hock, place it in the pot. To the pot, add the onion, carrot, scallions and, if desired, celery, bay leaf and peppercorns. Add the water and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for about 45 minutes. While stock is simmering, prepare the vegetables. For the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1/2-inch dice. Place it on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper to taste and, if desired, the five-spice powder. Toss to coat. Roast, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and soft. Set aside to cool. Wash the watercress and, using a sharp knife, trim the tough stems. Coarsely chop the remaining watercress. Thinly slice the reserved scallions (white and tender green parts) on the diagonal. Quickly rinse the sprouts in very cold water. Place on a paper towel to dry. To finish: Using a sharp knife, remove and discard the tough tendons from the reserved turkey meat. Dice the meat into bite-size pieces that are large enough to pick up with chopsticks. Strain the stock, discarding the solids. Skim the fat. Return the stock to the stockpot, return to a boil, season with salt to taste and add the noodles or spaghetti. Cook until the noodles are al dente, about 8 minutes. When the noodles are done, add the turkey meat and ginger, cover, remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly. Divide the noodles, meat and broth evenly among the bowls. Arrange the roasted diced sweet potato, watercress, scallions, bean sprouts and peanuts on plates and pass on the side or add them to each bowl before serving. Pass the chili or sesame oil on the side. Per serving (based on 8): 309 calories, 25 gm protein, 28 gm carbohydrates, 10 gm fat, 72 mg cholesterol, 3 gm saturated fat, 122 mg sodium, 2 gm dietary fiber Sugar Cookies (Makes about 24 cookies) Though Lindeborg serves these incredibly crisp sugar cookies with peaches and caramel sauce, they stand on their own as an entirely respectable dessert. Glass of milk optional. 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional for the baking sheet 1 cup granulated sugar, plus additional for rolling 1 large egg 11/4 teaspoons vanilla extract In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Have ready 2 large sheets of wax or parchment paper. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and scrape half of the dough right along the long edge of 1 sheet of paper. Form the dough tightly into a log shape that is 2 to 3 inches in diameter, using the paper to help form the log but removing the paper as the dough rolls onto itself so that the paper is only around the outside of the dough. (The diameter of the log will be the diameter of the cookies.) Wrap the ends of the paper around the formed roll of dough. Repeat with the remaining dough and the second sheet of paper. Refrigerate the wrapped logs until firm, 15 to 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. (Slice only as many cookies as are desired; the remaining dough can be tightly rewrapped and frozen.) If desired, pour about 1/4 cup of sugar on a plate. Working 1 at a time, carefully roll the thin edge of each cookie in the sugar until the circumference is completely coated with sugar. Place the cookies on the prepared sheet and bake until the edges are lightly brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Per cookie: 109 calories, 1 gm protein, 16 gm carbohydrates, 4 gm fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 3 gm saturated fat, 77 mg sodium, trace dietary fiber Emily Kaiser is a Washington writer. This is the fourth in her "Chef's Challenge" series. |
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© 2001 - 2008 Emily Kaiser |
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