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Jordan Wright
November 16, 2014
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
Aglaia Kremezi fairly floats into the room. Wisps of casually arranged auburn hair delicate as ripe corn silk are tempered by a pair of serious wire-rimmed frames that hint at her former life as an editor and journalist. She is utterly composed and cheery all at once. This well-known authority on Greek cuisine has come to the States to promote her newest cookbook, see friends and consult with Michael Costas, Executive Chef at José Andrés’ Greek-inspired restaurant Zaytinya.
After penning five cookbooks on the foods of Greece, Kremezi has of late directed her attention to vegetables, broadening the subject by including the whole of the Mediterranean. Kremezi lives with her husband, Costas Moraitis on the small Greek isle of Kea. For this cookbook she has put together 150 Mediterranean plant-based recipes tested in her kitchens at Kea Artisanal, where she conducts cooking vacations for students from around the world. Many of these historically authentic vegetarian dishes are far more lavish than meat-based dishes.
 Cookbook Author, Aglaia Kremezi, chats with Whisk and Quill – Photo credit by Jordan Wright Whisk and Quill – What do you think of the current shift to a more vegetable-based diet?
Kremezi – I think that it starts for the wrong reasons, because people think they have to eat healthier, and afterwards they consider the flavors. To me it’s the opposite. I far prefer the flavors of vegetables to the flavors of meat, even though I’m not vegetarian.
How many of your recipes are gleaned from early culinary sources and how many are tweaking through doing?
It’s both really. As you know, because you are a chef too, you take inspiration from this, that and the other and you add your own personal touch. They have my personality but they are taken from various countries from all over the Mediterranean and from friends’ kitchens.
I hear you and Paula Wolfert are great friends and that you Skype regularly. Do you ever cook together?
Oh, yes, in Sonoma and Connecticut. I’m on my way to Sonoma now to spend time with her before I go back to Greece.
The photos in your new book are so vivid, I want to eat the pages.
Penny De Los Santos took the photographs. She’s been to Kea for Saveur and I knew her work. I did take a few of the pictures, but she took all the rest. They are all taken in our house, garden and our outdoor kitchen. In the photos she used the plates given to me from my mother and our tablecloths, cookware and pottery that we have collected over the years.
The photographs are supposed to be the ‘hooks’ to draw people into the kitchen and make them cook, because people have neglected cooking. They rely too much on take out. A lot of companies are very quick to bring vegetarian products to market, but you never really know what’s in them.
Can you tell me some herbs or seasonings that are your favorites?
I like both the Aegean Herb and Hot Pepper Spice Mix, and also the Lebanese Seven-Spice Mixture. That one has cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, allspice, pepper and nutmeg. It’s very aromatic and a bit spicy. It’s the basic spice in Lebanon and they use it in tabbouleh. Both spice recipes are in the book. Also I make my own preserved lemons and there is a recipe for that too in the book.
What are your favorite kitchen tools?
Wooden spatulas and spoons, my mandolin, a very good knife and scissors. I have scissors everywhere! I even use them when I am baking bread to score the tops of the loaves. It works better than a razor.
Your book is going to make readers want to plant their own gardens in order to harvest the many vegetables and herbs you spotlight in your seasonally-inspired recipes. Do you get most of your fresh ingredients from your garden?
Yes, especially herbs. Our seasons are different than yours. Now we are planting lettuces. I just was in Japan and got some kun choi seeds. And we have 10 or 12 kinds of oregano, like the Lebanese zaatar, which is a cross between oregano and thyme. I love farmers markets too. I was at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market on Sunday and today I’m heading over to the market in Penn Quarter to buy apples.
Tell me about your cooking classes on Kea.
It was my husband’s idea. Because we had the garden and we live in the middle of nowhere. We are on the more remote part of the island, the north side. It’s not the side with all the villas like the Hamptons. It is where we can have a garden and it’s less exposed to the harsher weather. Also it was nice to have people from all over the world come and join us every now and then. We love having people around our table.
We have six-day classes. We cook and eat and taste wines and cheeses and honeys from all over Greece. We also do hikes and make travel arrangements for guests who want to explore other islands.
Why do you think this book is so important?
The whole idea started from the interactions I had with the people in our classes. I found that things that I didn’t even think of showing people how to cook – – things I considered self-evident – – like how to braise green beans with tomatoes and onions for example. But they were amazed and they were asking me for the recipes. I realized that people don’t really know how to cook vegetables at all. In the book I have all these variations from country to country around the Mediterranean. For example, I give recipes for two entirely different eggplant spreads, both the Arab and French Provencal versions. Each use roasted eggplant. It’s an example of what I’m trying to do in this book. It’s these variations that really interest me. I do a lot of research and call up my Turkish friends for advice and suggestions.
Kremezi will be in DC at the Sips & Suppers event on January 24th and 25th 2015 along with Alice Waters, Joan Nathan, David Chang, Mike Isabella, Spike Gjerde, Cathal Armstrong, Erik Bruner-Yang, Michael Friedman, Carla Hall, Haidar Karoum, Charles Phan, Jamie Leeds and Peter Jacobson.
Tunisian Chickpea Soup (Leblebi)
Jordan Wright
November 11, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
If you find the title Bad Jews off-putting, that’s precisely what Playwright Joshua Harmon is aiming for. Go ahead. Feel uncomfortable. But you’ll laugh your head off while you’re squirming in your seat.
 Irene Sofia Lucio (Daphna), Maggie Erwin (Melody), and Alex Mandell (Liam). Photo: Teddy Wolff. Three college-age cousins are gathered in the Manhattan apartment of Liam and Jonah for the funeral of their grandfather, Poppy. In this funny-cause-it’s-true comedy they debate, denigrate and question each other over who has the right to have Poppy’s “chai”, a chain on which hangs the Jewish symbol for life. Which one of them is most deserving of its ownership? Which one of them is more Jewish? Who is the True Believer? Each offers a salient argument to the age-old question.
 Irene Sofia Lucio (Daphna). Photo: Teddy Wolff. Daphna (Irene Sofia Lucio), a young woman with plans to take up rabbinical studies in Jaifa and later enlist in the Israeli Army, thinks she should have it since she is the most religious and insists her cousins respect the sacrifices that “Poppy” made to safeguard it during his internment in a concentration camp. Jonah (Joe Paulik) is insistent that, by tradition, it should go to the eldest son – – especially since he wants to gift it to his Wasp girlfriend Melody (Maggie Erwin) as a symbol of his love, in the same way their grandfather presented it to their grandmother upon their engagement. Liam (Alex Mandell), Jonah’s brother and a video game addict, is non-committal, determined to stay out of the fray, while all hell breaks loose around him. He calls himself a “Bad Jew” for eating cookies on Passover and considers himself an atheist, leaving the debate to Jonah and Daphna, whom Jonah angrily refers to as “the Super Jew” for wanting to observe the most Orthodox interpretation of Jewish tradition.
There is so much vitriol flying around for the sake of determining the “best” Jew, that the audience literally gasped and groaned in shock – – not only for the meanness demonstrated by Daphna and Liam but also for the brutal honesty on often glazed over issues that can be ignored, hotly debated or even fervently embraced. There is nothing facile in here. Nonetheless it is riveting and hilarious in its presentation and the actors do a bang-up job interpreting their roles.
 Alex Mandell (Liam), Irene Sofia Lucio (Daphna), Maggie Erwin (Melody), and Joe Paulik (Jonah). Photo: Teddy Wolff. Director Serge Seiden has a firm grip on the action, setting the characters in constant motion and keeping the pace locked and loaded for the next brawling barb.
A+ for provoking honesty, evoking laughter and encouraging introspection and discussion.
Through December 21st at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St., Washington, DC 20005. For tickets and information call 202 332.3300 or visit www.StudioTheatre.org.
Jordan Wright
November 5, 2014
Local Chef Cathal Armstrong’s Cookbook, My Irish Table – Recipes From the Homeland and Restaurant Eve, Will Warm The Cockles of Your Heart
My favorite cookbooks reveal the author’s personal connection to both the recipe and the ingredients, and this one is no different. In Cathal Armstrong’s “My Irish Table – Recipes From the Homeland and Restaurant Eve” (Ten Speed Press, 2014), co-written with former chef and Washington Post food writer David Hagedorn, the hearth-warming book takes us on an Irish culinary journey inspired by Armstrong’s mother’s kitchen and his father’s vegetable garden, and influenced by his early French culinary training.
 Cathal Armstrong As chef/owner of Restaurant Eve, and owner of The Majestic, Eammon’s A Dublin Chipper, PX and Society Fair, all located in Alexandria, Virginia, Armstrong has gotten a heap of ink from some of the world’s leading magazine writers and has twice been chosen from among DC area’s finest chefs to create a year-long Irish-inspired menu for The National Gallery of Art’s Garden Café, so this long-awaited book is a treasure.
At the top of each recipe you’ll find a description of Armstrong’s fondest food memories culled from his childhood in Dublin and dishes from his highly esteemed Restaurant Eve. All the recipes are tailored for the home cook. Here’s one to warm the cockles of your heart on a cold winter’s night.
Cary Pollak for Whisk and Quill
November 5, 2014
On November 8th and 9th the MetroCooking Show will make its ninth appearance in the nation’s capitol at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and each year it has outdone itself. Last year over 200 vendors displayed and sold their wares at the show. This weekend the number of specialty food exhibitors will exceed 300, offering everything from cookies and scones from A Bit More Sweets and Specialties to coffee products from the Zen Den. An exciting new development this year is the debut of natural and organic foods at the Natural Foods Pavilion.
 Guy Fieri Marketplace General Admission is good for one day and allows access to the Tasting & Entertaining Workshop Area, as well as cooking demonstrations on the James Beard Stage and the Exhibitor Marketplace. For an additional fee celebrity chefs will be demonstrating their culinary talents on the Celebrity Stage. Check out Guy Fieri host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives who will appear on stage Saturday and Bobby Flay of Food Network and the Cooking Channel who has some surprises for his fans on Sunday. Both will be preparing a few of their favorite dishes.
 Bobby Flay Throughout the day professional instructors from the renowned cooking school of L’Academie de Cuisine will hold classes on holiday dishes, hors d’oeuvres, knife skills, cake decorating and more, and demonstrations on the James Beard Cooking Stage will feature eleven notable local chefs including Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve, Vikram Sunderam of Rasika, Bertrand Chemel of 2941 and Luigi Diotaiuti of Al Tiramisu. Tasting and Entertaining Area workshops will focus on Turkish and Italian cuisines, nutrition, cocktails, spices, gluten-free desserts and more.
On Sunday from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) will host the Grand Tasting Pavilion to present samples of specialties from over 50 of Washington’s most distinguished chefs and restaurants. The ticket for this event includes complimentary Marketplace General Admission valid on Sunday only.
There is plenty to see – – and buy. So bring along your Christmas shopping list and get cookin’!
Saturday, November 8th and Sunday, November 9th at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, DC. 20001
Saturday from 10 – 6 pm and Sunday from 10 – 5pm
General Admission – $20.00 in advance; $24.50 at the door.
Children ages 4 to 12 – $10.00 in advance; $13.50 at the door, Children under 4 free.
Tickets to celebrity theater performances, cooking classes and the Grand Tasting Pavilion are sold separately. For more information visit www.MetroCookingDC.com
Jordan Wright
November 4, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Derek Smith as Jaques (center) with Matthew Schleigh, Nathan Winkelstein, Todd Scofield, Theodore Snead, Timothy D. Stickney and Luis Alberto Gonzalez of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Michael Attenborough. Photo by Scott Suchman. Director Michael Attenborough (“Sir Michael” is not the title the be-knighted director prefers) has brought an intriguing interpretation of Shakespeare’s timeless As You Like It to the Lansburgh Theatre. It is so timeless that just to prove it, he has informed the play with an amalgam of period costumes from Elizabethan dresses and 40’s era fedoras and trench coats to hillbilly-inspired Daisy Dukes and Carhartt overalls. Clearly Costume Designer Jonathan Fensom got the memo. It is but one of the refreshing aspects of this reimagined production.
 Zoë Waites as Rosalind of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Michael Attenborough. Photo by Scott Suchman. Attenborough mixes up accents too. Rosalind speaks in the crisp cadence of the British upper crust, and while her cohort Celia (and most of the other actors) sport ordinary American accents, a sexed-up Audrey (Tara Giordano) and her hapless suitor have Southern drawls. It makes for an appetizingly approachable, far from grandiose, version of Shakespeare.
Fensom is also charged with creating the set design and his intricate use of texture within the spare sets is yet another clue as to what the director wants us to feel. In lieu of lavish depictions of forests and castles, we are treated to billowing amber silk curtains strung across the stage on a rope that change direction to depict motion, alter mood and provide intimate locations for the changing of scenes. Instead of trees to depict a woodland, Fensom has colored the scenes and costumes with shades of umber, moss green and ochre and the crimson hues of autumn leaves.
 Zoë Waites as Rosalind and Andrew Veenstra as Orlando of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Michael Attenborough. Photo by Scott Suchman. As you’ll no doubt remember the beautiful Rosalind, here played by Zoë Waites one of Britain’s most notable stage actors, has fallen head over heels for the tongue-tied Orlando (Andrew Veenstra). In true Shakespearean style the lovers are ill-fated and to make matters worse, they are banished by their royal families. To seek refuge Rosalind, Celia and Touchstone flee into the fantasy forest of Arden. Unbeknownst to the trio Orlando has undertaken a mission to find Rosalind in the very same forest. Yet unlike Romeo and Juliet our all of our adventurers reach a happily ever after conclusion. You should know that going in since whatever befalls our frustrated lovers there is much frivolous hilarity and enough plot twists to fill an entire season of television rom-coms. As Touchstone reminds us, “We that are true lovers run into strange capers. But as all is mortal in nature, so is all nature in love mortal in folly.”
There are so many marvelous actors in this play that it’s tricky to laud only a few – but I will – most notably Zoë Waites as the comely and feisty Rosalind, the self-appointed love expert; Timothy Stickney who adds heft, power and magnitude to the dual roles of Duke Senior and Duke Frederick; Adina Verson’s delicately girlish charm as Celia, counterbalancing Rosalind’s transformation into the rough-hewn boy Ganymede; Andrew Weems as the fantastically absurd motley fool, Touchstone; and Derek Smith, who is madly captivating as the snarkily haughty and delightfully melancholy cynic, Jaques.
And though we don’t see her until the last act, look for Valeri Mudek to lend a surprising appeal to the fickle Phoebe.
 Zoë Waites as Rosalind, Adina Verson as Celia and Andrew Weems as Touchstone of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Michael Attenborough. Photo by Scott Suchman. In the immortal words of Jaques, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their entrances and exits…” and we will be all the better for watching Attenborough’s original interpretation.
Highly recommended.
Take note: STC has partnered with the U.S. Botanic Garden to present “Escape to the Forest of Arden”. To watch a podcast featuring these spectacular gardens while listening to the bard’s poetry recited by some of DC’s finest actors, download here www.ShakespeareTheatre.org/Escape.
Through December 14th at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre at 450 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20003. For tickets and information contact the box office at 202 547-1122 or visit www.ShakespeareTheatre.org.
Jordan Wright
October 28, 2014
all photo credit to Jordan Wright
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
Something for Moms to Cheer About, Willowsford Farm Lunch, Winos Take Over the Kennedy Center, Daniel Boulud Storms the Capitol
Hooray Puree Adds Nutrition, Covertly
 Hooray Purees have no added preservatives, dyes or even ascorbic acid Sneaky moms just got approval from Hooray Puree – a new pureed vegetable product that can be slipped undetected into mac n’ cheese, used to bump up the nutritional value of soups and stews, and added to smoothies. It even replaces all baking fats and oils in cakes, brownies and pies. All on the Q.T. In fact there are so many ways to have it over on your finicky kids, that you’re only limited by your imagination. Did I mention it’s convenient, organic, shelf-stable and comes in a nifty box?
 Mango-Carrot Smoothie I came across this pureed vegetables product through Timothy Cipriano, a chef who had worked to institute nutritional food programs for the Connecticut school system. Several years ago I had dinner with Cipriano after his first trip to the White House where he had met First Lady Michelle Obama and toured her famous kitchen garden.
 Colorful Quinoa Salad His efforts had been recognized by Mrs. Obama and she invited him to work with her office, Congress and the USDA in the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act that teaches kids where their food comes from. Surprisingly many kids, whether from the suburbs or the inner city, have never been on a farm or spent time in a vegetable garden. But by working together with the food service industry and community partners, the program Chefs Move to Schools began in earnest to change the scope of school food allowing kids to make better, more nutritious, and more informed choices about their everyday school breakfasts and lunches.
 No-Bake Peanut Butter Raisin Bars Not long ago Chef Cipriano discovered Hooray Puree and found it dovetailed nicely into his message of amping up the nutritional value and flavor of popular recipes. He is now the Vice President of Brand Development for the company and spends his time education school children and school nutrition professionals. You can follow him on Twitter @localfooddude. For dozens of great recipes check out www.HoorayPuree.com. Order online through www.AbesMarket.com.
Willowsford Farm Luncheon
In September I toured Willowsford Farm, a 4,000-acre community in Loudoun County, Virginia that enjoys two zip codes – from the quaint town of Aldie to nearby Ashburn. The vast property with a 300+-acre working farm that produces more than 150 varieties of fruits and vegetables, has a clutch of chickens and a herd of goats, truly celebrates the farm and all its bounty.
 Preparing the weekly CSA baskets at the farm Hunt country homes line the winding lanes leading to two magnificently appointed community centers. Outfitted with both indoor and outdoor teaching kitchens, noted chefs like Bryan Voltaggio of Range cook for homeowners at frequently arranged pop-up restaurants within the community center.
 Willowsford Farm Executive Chef Bonnie Moore In addition to the kitchens, farm and a farmers market with a CSA program, the property has a Culinary Director. Chef Bonnie Moore, formerly of the Inn at Little Washington, teaches ongoing cooking classes and provides recipes for residents. Children can volunteer to help at the farm and this summer they had a kids’ camp that took full advantage of the seven-acre lake where families enjoy canoeing and kayaking.
 Last of the season tomato salad // Harvest Apple Pie with Buttermilk Ice Cream On the day I visited Moore oversaw the end-of-summer luncheon in the grand Sycamore House, a stunning building whose receiving rooms have beautiful paneled walls milled from trees on the property.
 Mike Snow at the farm market at Willowsford Led by Farm Manager Mike Snow we visited the farm stand and clambered over one of the 40-miles of trails to check out the barns, coming upon a friendly Border Collie and a few hitchhiking praying mantises.
The visionary of this unique property is Brian Cullen, who saw fit to build in all the amenities from swimming pools and formal gardens to parks and camping areas for the residents before the homes had even been finished – a rare commitment from a developer. To learn more about the community visit www.Willowsford.com.
Winebow Performs at Kennedy Center
 From the terrace at Kennedy Center at the Winebow Vintner’s Harvest event Usually when I’m at the Kennedy Center I am watching a theatrical production of some sort – ballet, play, musical, opera. But this time I was there by invitation from major wholesaler Winebow who used the enormous dining room for its 1st Annual Vintner’s Harvest DC. There enhanced by a spectacular view overlooking the Washington Monument, they presented their import and distribution portfolio of over 200 producers and their wines, spirits and sakes.
 So many wines. So little time. It was cheek-to-jowl as buyers, beverage managers, sommeliers and restaurateurs packed the vast room searching for that elusive bottle. For some of us it was a chance to catch up with those in the biz, sample what’s new and make a few friends. For the earnest buyers in the crush, it was a serious exercise in sampling.
I confess I was a bit overwhelmed by the magnitude of the offerings – imagine over a thousand bottles at your reach! But it wasn’t long before an impossibly tall stranger in a cowboy hat broke through the scrum, saw my dilemma and took me by the hand to some lovely Bordeaux and a few well-aged sakes. All in the name of research, of course…
Daniel Boulud Storms the Capitol
 Daniel Boulud greets guests at his DBGB opening party Famed chef Daniel Boulud has charged onto the DC restaurant scene with DBGB Kitchen + Bar. And last month’s opening party was epic. Famed chefs Carla Hall, Jose Andres and Patrick O’Connell swooned along with the rest of us including Countess Elisabeth de Kergolay, Founder of Babeth’s Feast who has worked with Boulud who has created recipes for her NYC-based frozen food line. Boulud graciously posed for selfies with any guest that asked nicely.
 The splendid charcuterie // The popular Maryland crab topped burgers at DBGB The stylish spot is in the glamorous new City Center Building. Already Boulud has felt the love from the 100+ celebrity chef signed plates used as wall décor from none other than Grant Aschatz, Alice Waters, Thomas Keller, White House chef Crista Comerford, Anthony Bourdain, and Martha Stewart? Yes, the Domestic Goddess herself! The list is impressive. It’s like Sardi’s for chefs!
Best nibbles: Coq au vin and Baked Alaska.
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