Tom Douglas
Claim to foodie fame: Owner, Tom Douglas Restaurants: Lola, Palace Kitchen, Dahlia Lounge, Dahlia Bakery, Etta's. Serious Pie Downtown, Seatown, Brave Horse Tavern, Cuoco, Dahlia Workshop, Serious Pie Westlake, Ting Momo
Quote: I'm a straight-up guy, so I have confidence that if I like something, most people will too. That's how I've created my menus for the last 30 years, and it seems to have worked. I didn't go to school — I just cook what I like to eat, and most people will feel the same.
What is your earliest memory of cooking?
I think the earliest of my cooking memories are making schnecken with my grandmother at the kitchen table — schnecken is basically a cinnamon-sugar pull-apart — and trying my hand at making bread. I also liked to make breakfast for my folks on the weekends, starting when I was probably seven or eight years old. I would put it on a little tray and take it to them in bed — and this oddly, or not so oddly, coincided with when we stopped having children in my family... My dad was a traveling salesman, leaving Monday morning and coming back Friday night. So, Saturday mornings were a special time for my parents that I started interrupting with my breakfasts — I guess you could say it was their own form of birth control. But I have six sisters and a brother, so it is maybe good I started doing that.
What is your idea of comfort food?
Whatever gets my honey in the mood! I like making food that makes people smile, and she likes a good roast chicken, so when I want to make her happy, that's what I make. For me, I like a brisket or a pot roast or short rib.
Food or meal you would happily die eating, or, what is your last meal and testament?
I am guilty of developing a theme here, but I would say: naked sushi with my wife.
How did your family honor food traditions in your household?
We think about things like family food traditions more in today's society. Food is more important to Americans, I feel, than 30, 40, 50 years ago, when people were mainly trying to simplify. Learning about microwaves, canned and flash-frozen food, and fake breast milk — the whole idea was to make the kitchen simpler. Those were a lost couple of generations, I feel, and I think we're now trying to go back and appreciate those traditions and place value on them.
In my house, traditions came with, say, Easter or Thanksgiving — they weren't even talked about, they just happened. You don't put two and two together until you're out on your own, and you realize that you had the same thing every year and you crave it.
In a day to day meal format, I think the tradition for us was that we had three meals a day at home together. Mom cooked them, and my grandma made the dessert. It's just what we had, and we sat down together to eat the food. A lot of people these days say they don't have time to cook, but they seem to have time to sit and watch American Idol for an hour and a half — it's a choice they make.
Who first taught you how to cook?
It goes back to my mom cooking every meal, my grandma being a good cook. My grandma on my mom's side was a better cook — her husband worked as an executive of the Santa Fe railroad and at that time, in the '30s and '40s, some of the best dining in America was in train cars, the high-end fine dining cars. My grandparents got used to that kind of food and service — you go in, sit down, you're waited on. And that familiarity and standard was much more reflected in her cooking than in my mom's, who just was doing her best every day to get three meals on the table. Going to my grandma's house for dinner was quite a treat. She was a classic housewife who would cook all day and then disappear and come back out in a nice dress, lips cherry-red and hair done. That was intriguing to me. She is also the one who taught me how to sip Jack Daniels and chug a Pabst Blue Ribbon.
What is your favorite dish or meal to cook?
I love making a great crispy-skinned roast duck or, on my days off, I still enjoy a low and slow barbeque, where you just have to have faith that it's going to get done. I do have a certain religion about barbeque because I like the process. You just have to step back and have faith that the smoke is going to do its job. That's my kind of religion.
If you could invite anyone to your holiday dinner — living, dead, or imaginary — who would it be?
Barack Obama and Michelle. I am fascinated by the idea of that man, being a decorated Army veteran to win the job and stepping into as tough a situation as you could imagine, with two wars and a bankrupt economy... He doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves. In one year, he got health care passed for the people who needed it the most, and yet he has been vilified for everything that he's done. He's admirable in his tenure, and I'd be happy to have him as a guest. Plus, he likes my coconut cream pie! I'd plan to take him out and school him on the court in the backyard. Michelle has to come too — he's not allowed to come solo.
Tom Douglas' Rustic Bread Stuffing with Dried Cherries, Hazelnuts, and Oyster Mushrooms
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 loaf European style rustic bread, about 1to 1¼ pounds*
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the pan
½ cup finely chopped shallots
1 pound oyster mushrooms, stems trimmed, and roughly chopped
2/3 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts (see note)
2/3 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries, soaked in hot water 15 minutes and drained
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
¼ cup sliced chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 cups turkey or chicken stock (homemade or low sodium purchased), hot
* Preparation note: Be sure to use a crusty loaf of rustic or European style bread for this recipe.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Butter a large shallow baking dish, such as a 9x13-inch pan, and set aside.
Use a serrated knife to slice both ends off the bread, then slice off the heaviest and thickest parts of the crust (Note: slice off the bottom crust plus any very thick parts or ridges from the top crust, but don’t worry about removing every bit of the crust), then cut the bread into 1- to 1½-inch chunks. You should have about 10 to 12 cups of bread cubes. Put the bread in a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil, toss, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the bread out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook a minute or two until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine the bread, mushroom-shallot mixture, hazelnuts, cranberries, herbs, and orange zest. (Note: when adding the mushrooms, be sure to scrape all the butter and mushroom juices from the skillet into the bowl using a rubber spatula.) Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring so the bread will absorb most of the stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the stuffing in the prepared pan and cover with foil. Bake the stuffing for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 35 minutes until the top is crusty and golden.
Remove the pan from the oven and serve.
Note: to toast hazelnuts, place them on a baking sheet in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. After roasting the hazelnuts, while they are still warm, rub them against each other in a clean dish towel to remove as much of the thin, papery skins as possible.
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