Denis Culinary Tours

Wow! I know some of you believe every year is the day, week, month and year of the dog, but according to the Chinese New Year Calendar, this year occurs only every 12 years but the earth dog occurs in only 2018 (and years 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, and 2030). But no matter, the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum will celebrate the Chinese holiday new year on January 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and this year is especially special.  Bo Ling's Chinese Restaurant is going to be there (rooms 4 and 5) to help by serving some of their fine cuisine like dan dan noodles with pork, Sichuan dumplings, roasted chicken, vegetable fried rice, and rangoon dip with crispy noodles. Besides trying some unusual dishes, you and your family can enjoy several different dance groups, a traditional Chinese dress show, even a yo-yo demonstration along with special Asian influenced menu items in the Rozzelle Court Restaurant. There’s so much going on – and it will help you learn about a different cultu...

Braised Red Cabbage One Great Dish A while back, as I’m sure you’ll recall, I spoke with Chef Jeff Dietzler at Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar and wrote in that blog that he does even cook at home when he has time.  One thing that creative chefs do is reach into their memory banks and recreate.  This recipe is an example of that and a perfect wintry pick-me-up as well. Braised Red Cabbage Ingredients: 1 head red cabbage, finely sliced                              2 carrots, medium grate on box grater   2 apples, granny smith, medium grate    1 red onion, small dice                   ½ t. nutmeg                ...

Thanks for the Memories, 2017 I’m a lucky girl as I get to eat out often.  A lot.  But when asked to come up with the best meals of 2017, I must pause, ponder, try to remember.  I would say that entire spectacular meals are tough to recall –  , well, not to recall beyond, “That was all wonderful,” which makes for really boring reading.  Instead, I tend to remember one especially wonderful dish which casts its glimmer on everything else to create that total glowing impression. So I’ll mention a few, briefly. First things first.  That means, before dinner, a drink.  Surprise. I’ve been on an old-fashioned kick recently (well, the last ten years) so I think I’d pick the one made with Scotch at Porto do Sul or one of the newer riffs on the classics at Pierpont’s .  I also really like the aquavit tasting at the Krokstrom Klubb and Market – you drink these and your mouth even feels clean as your brain gets cold. Since my perfect meal dre...

One Great Chef:  Jeff Dietzler Back at the end of September, a friend and I went to Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar and were treated royally.  We had about six different things on the menu, and honestly, all were terrific.  Shortly after, I spent some time with Jeff Dietzler, chef de cuisine there and we had a great conversation about him, his views, his challenges; oh, let’s just say his life in general.    Jeff is a pretty determined and motivated guy I concluded.  He grew up in St. Louis and then went to Johnson and Wales University in their culinary school in Denver.  He worked in Denver for ten years and then for three years at the local Jax, gradually working his way up the ladder.  He transferred to Kansas City to open up the restaurant here and became chef de cuisine in the spring of this year. Jeff said that this current position puts much of what he learned at school to work – the scheduling, costing, management s...

The Craft of the Cocktail So a gal walks into a bar . . . Or a restaurant.  And says to the bartender, “What’s special?”  He hands her an entire menu of what can only be called specialty drinks. Take specialty up a notch and you have the trend that’s been going for several years now as the “craft cocktail craze” continues unabated.  Almost every bar worth its hand-filled olives serves at least five or many, many more, riffs on the classic cocktail, usually devised by that bar’s enthusiastic mixologists.  Though the execution in restaurants is different from the best-known crafty bars (for example, Manifesto, Julep, the new Monarch, or P.S. Speakeasy ), the intent is the same:  a drink that is very special, very unique, very memorable. It’s no coincidence that rise of the craft cocktail somewhat parallels the rise of the artisan food movement with its emphasis on fresh, high quality ingredients –  but that cocktail could have more ingredients than ...

Hereford House’s quite excellent lunch menu! As a long-time resident of K.C. and its burbs, I thought I knew everything about Hereford House I needed to know.  Hand-cut steaks, four locations (east, west, north, and south) plus Pierpont’s in Union Station, great burgers (hand ground from their steak meat every day), good happy hours, and this year, sixty years old.  What I didn’t know about especially was their great lunch specials every day of week, like a 12 oz. ribeye for just $25 on Mondays or what turns out to be a pretty famous meatloaf on Thursdays.  On a recent lunch date with publisher Kathy Denis last week, we were treated to their newest steak – the Hereford special strip steak.  What makes this different is the fact that it’s “marinated” overnight – dried porcini mushrooms, salt, black and crushed red pepper, and a couple of other ingredients.  The result is the juiciest and most flavorful strip I’ve ever had – and I’m a ribeye girl....

What's In Season  Fall is a fantastic growing season throughout our region in terms of variety of produce. This time of year, fresh local fruits and vegetables are filling the Farmers Market. Here's what's local and in season right now: Veggies: Acorn Squash, Asian Spinach, Basil, Beans Beets, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Cabbage Sprouts, Carrots, Chestnuts, Chili Hot Peppers, Cilantro, Corn, Cucumbers, Cucuzza Squash, Daikon Radish, Eggplant, Field Tomatoes, Fresh Herbs, Garlic, Gourds, Green Beans, Green Peppers, Habanero Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lemon Grass, Long Beans, Mushrooms, Okra, Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radishes, Rainbow Chard, Red Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash, Squash Blossoms, Sweet Banana Peppers, Sweet Corn, Swiss Chard, Tomatillos, Tomatoes (green house), Turnips, Velvet Beans, Yellow Squash, Zucchini Fruits:  Apples, Asian Pears, Gra...