RFT 📰

This seasoning is the final touch on Duckbill’s Chooch’s Chicken before we serve it to our guests. It’s named after my daughter, Chandler Heman, who I call Chooch.

I love to offer bits of memories through flavor, and when we were opening the restaurant, a couple came in, and they wanted a salad. I said they could test a new house salad that we were working on, and I used this dressing.

A mother of four children, three girls and one boy, Elenore was Andrew Hargis’ grandma on his mother’s side. Married in 1947, Elenore was the wife of a World War II cargo pilot turned local printer.

When the temperatures and hours of daylight diminish, there’s one recipe I cozy up to: Ham and Bean Soup. Not only is it comforting for me, but it’s a little salty and funky.

This recipe, doctored with the addition of herbs, is what my very non-culinary mom would make when it was cold outside. I absolutely loved when she made it because she was a traveling nurse and a single mom, so when she made the soup, it meant she was spending the day with me. Ingredients: Whole chicken, quartered (3 to 4 lbs) 1 tbsp oil 1 cup onion, minced 3 garlic cloves, minced 3 ribs of celery, small dice 2 carrots, small dice 8 cups chicken stock 1 lb wide egg noodles 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 3 sprigs fresh thyme 1 tsp dried oregano 2 tbsp parsley, chopped 2 bay leaves 1 tsp sherry vinegar (or lemon juice) Salt and pepper to taste

Earlier this year, at a holiday gathering with my extended family, the topic turned to my maternal grandmother and how she wasn’t the best cook. A stern German woman with the unenviable task of raising six children, she approached cooking less as a labor of love than a necessity, and — though she was a wonderful baker — her lack of culinary passion was evident in much of her savory cooking. No one would dare say anything about it when she was alive, but it became somewhat of a running joke in the 10 years since her passing and, on this particular occasion, served as fodder for a story my aunt told of the first time she had my grandmother’s cooking.

When I think of homey family-style recipes, I immediately think about the mac salad that is one of our sides at Chicken Scratch. The salad has longer roots than the restaurant.

My family eats this over steamed jasmine rice, but when I’m too lazy to make rice (well, too lazy to wash rice), I eat this with a slice of toasted sourdough bread or some sort of buttered rustic bread. It’s so good!

I like to pair this with “cheeze” toast, melting three slices of vegan cheese for each side of bread. While it’s on the grill, I add red hummus, sliced avocados, sliced tomatoes and fresh spinach.

O’Connell’s owner John Parker says, “Mike is formerly of City Diner and Mangia Italiano; he has been at O’Connell’s for about a year, and has been an MVP server. He is well-loved here, and we hope to have him serve food here for a long, long time.

A few years back, my mother, always the family historian, made a three-ring binder of family recipes. These recipes were mostly hers, collected from church cookbooks, St. Louis society books and contributions from family or friends.

This past summer my closest friend moved to Chicago to continue his medical training. Being a Fujianese Chinese American, Mike was responsible for introducing me to the diversity of Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine in St. Louis, and the reason I started learning to speak Mandarin.

This is something that my dad made for us my whole life, before oxtails became so popular. Now everyone knows about them, and they are expensive.

It’s winter, and Natasha [Bahrami] and I love to make soups throughout the cold months. There is something about the smell of a soup simmering away in the house that just makes winter tolerable. Oxtail stew is something we really enjoy making together.

The women in my family have strong beautiful hands. They smell of garlic and lemon. They awaken early to fill the house with the perfume of the past, a scent that lingers within my body and blood.

This recipe includes a lot of items that may be unknown to many. You’ll need to visit your local Chinese market to get these ingredients.

In many homes around the world, like our family’s, spaetzle is a common dish. Not only are spaetzle delightfully delicious, they are quick and easy to make. The dish is often served on the side with other Central European comfort food like schnitzel or stews.

This recipe is one of my favorites as the seasons change into spring. But I always make an abundance of this and omit the lemon at the end to save for the winter.

Risotto is just one of those dishes that immediately says comfort to me. It’s also super versatile. Use whatever vegetable you have around the house, add some acid for balance and cheese for richness, and you’ve got a meal that everyone loves.

Laap is a dish that really takes me back to childhood. My grandma lived with us and helped to raise me, and this was a dish that she would frequently make.