What is TaStE WiTh ThE EyEs?

Welcome!

Come, have at seat at the table. Can I get  you a glass of wine? A crisp Grüner Veltliner, a luscious Pinot Gris, or perhaps a jammy Pinot Noir?

Taste With The Eyes is my other home, the one without walls. It’s here that I’d like to introduce you to my precious family and my cherished friends. It’s where we’ll have a blast cooking with my nephews Stone, 8, and Jett, 6. Join us as we celebrate the holidays, Passover and Thanksgiving being my favorites. Smell the roses, take a tour of my garden. Attend our themed dinner parties, like the Tribute to Jackie O dinner complete with pillbox hats or our over-the-top Top Chef Dinner with Stephanie Izard.

Travel with me and dine at the world’s finest restaurants from Chicago to Las Vegas, New York to Paris, and the local hole-in-the-walls too. Oh, and don’t miss our underground-style restaurant, The Sunken City Supper Club. It’s a fresh, local and secret place to seasonally mingle with friends and neighbors – to enjoy the camaraderie, great food, wine, and the awesome intimate jazz standards performed by local musicians. We hold one event per season, and the menu always reflects seasonal ingredients.

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Yom Kippur & Kasha Varnishkes

Kasha Varnishkes

Roasted Whole Grain Buckwheat, Bow Tie Pasta,
Caramelized Yellow Onion, Sautéed Mushrooms, Parsley

Irving and Fanny Hirsch

The holiest of Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur begins in a few hours, at sunset. Last night we made Kasha Varnishkes. It always brings back memories of Nana and Auntie Edythe. This year my version of Kasha Varnishkes (also called Kasha & Bows) is heart healthy, high in fiber, and includes wild mushrooms. Auntie Edythe would prepare hers with lots of kasha in proportion to the bows. My recipe is more like a pasta dish with buckwheat, mushrooms and onion.

My Nana was born in Kiev, Russia 1894. The family fled to Canada to escape the pogroms when she was a young girl. Her name was Vitte but she took her sister’s name, Fanny, after Fanny was killed in a machine accident. She met my Papa (paternal grandfather) when they were teenagers and their families were living in the same apartment complex in Montreal. His name was Yitzcok when he was born in Romania 1891 but changed it to Isadore upon arrival in Canada when he was 13 years old. He celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on the boat.

Fanny and Isadore married then made their way to America and settled in Chicago where Papa took the name Irving, and they raised their children, Edythe (back, center right in photo) and Leonard (my father, far left in photo). Sitting next to Aunt Edythe is her husband, my Uncle Sydney, and his mother, Rose. On the other side is my Aunt Gloria and Uncle Mickey (Papa’s youngest brother).

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Aromatic Mahi Mahi & Pineapple Soup


Mahi Mahi Soup with Pineapple, Tomato, Bean Sprouts, and Bok Choy
flavored with
Lemongrass, Shallot, Vietnamese Fish Sauce, and Fresh Cayenne Pepper
garnished with
Cilantro, Mint, and Lime

Fish, fruit, vegetables and aromatic herbs combine to make this simultaneously spicy, sour, sweet, and savory soup. Mahi mahi (aka dorado and dolphinfish) has a mild flavor similar to swordfish and a firm meaty texture with large moist flakes. This recipe features wild-caught mahi mahi from the Pacific waters off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup (which is traditionally made with a whole catfish, including the head and bones) was the inspiration for this fast, easy, and heart healthy incarnation.

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Heart Healthy Roasted Chile “Cream” Sauce

Wild-Caught Columbia River Sumac-Dusted Salmon
Fresh Steamed Broccolini
Roasted New Mexico Hatch Chile “Cream” Sauce

They are roasting up a storm in Hatch, New Mexico. And we are fortunate that our local Bristol Farms is carrying this fresh crop of Hatch chiles. If you cannot get Hatch chiles where you live, please try this sauce with roasted Anaheim, New Mexico, or poblano chiles. Rich and creamy with medium-hot spiciness, this savory sauce is terrific on fish, chicken, vegetables, rice, and tacos! And it’s heart healthy – made with tofu, canola oil, roasted chiles, cilantro, cumin and lime juice. No cream.

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