comfort food with a twist

YOU WON’T FIND SPA FOOD HERE. NO, INDEED. IT’S DOWNHOME FOOD MADE ELEGANT.

By BETTS GRIFFONE
Photos by WILLIAM VASTA

IT’S FALLwith all of the wonderful things that go along with it — cozy fires, the leaves on trees changing colors and what else? Comfort food. If we aren’t cooking it ourselves, then we’re seeking it.

And Manhattan Grill at the San Bernardino Hilton is one place where you’ll find old-school comfort food with a modern twist. That’s how chef Alfred Katopodis describes it.

The macaroni and cheese, for example, is made with five cheeses and roasted garlic. It’s called Not Your Momma’s Mac N’ Cheese.

The Almost Famous Meat Loaf combines certified angus beef with ground pork, turkey and veal, wrapped in applewood-smoked bacon and napped with a demiglass that takes days to create.

Salmon is doused with a honeybourbon sauce and roasted on a cedar plank. And then there’s the chicken pot pie made with slow-roasted chicken.

If none of those hit your comfort palate just right, there’s always the steaks. For the tenderloin, it’s wrapped in applewoodsmoked bacon and topped with melting maytag bleu cheese. You won’t find spa food here.

No, indeed. It’s downhome food made elegant. Katopodis’ ability to bring home this kind of cooking comes from many years in the kitchen — a lot of those years living in the South.

Raised in Southern California in a family where food was the livelihood (his father was a chef for Hyatt Hotels), it was natural that Katopodis began his career in a Hyatt kitchen, right out of high school.

He stayed with Hyatt for years, moving from Indianapolis to Dearborn, Mich., to Nashville to Biloxi, Miss. In Nashville, Katopodis was the chef for then Gov. Lamar Alexander.

Working for the governor, he enjoyed a wealth of kitchen help — most of them trustees from a nearby prison. They were thrilled to have a chance to work outside the prison walls and in turn, they taught Katopodis about farming.

He learned that green beans should be planted next to corn, because that way the beans would grow up the corn stalks. They also taught him to plant carrots and potatoes in rubber tires filled with dirt.

When the veggies were ripe, they would pull up the tires and the carrots and potatoes would come falling out.

Many of the fruits and vegetables found in the dishes on the governor’s table came right out of their garden.

Two ladies who worked in the governor’s kitchen taught Katopodis about canning, preserving and making jams and jellies, plus many of the intricacies of Southern cooking. Where they came from, people lived to eat whereas they thought that too many others eat to live. They also taught him that food was love.

That’s also what Katopodis believes.

There is a story behind nearly every recipe on the menu at Manhattan Grill. And when he entertains at home, Katopodis serves food that means something to him — something with a story behind it, which creates memories and gives guests a little piece of himself. Home cooks should do the same thing, he says.

Here are some of his other suggestions for home entertaining:

• When you’re making pasta that is going to be dressed with a sauce or just butter, salt and pepper, don’t rinse the pasta. The starch will help the sauce stick.

• Serve meat and fish with the bone in as often as possible. The bone gives the flesh more flavor.

• Add flavors to mashed potatoes, such as asiago cheese and sage, or horseradish or roasted garlic.

• Get ingredients ready the day before the event. Chop vegetables and put them in separate containers in the refrigerator. That way, when it comes time to prepare the food, everything is ready to go.

• Enjoy yourself. Your guests will notice and they’ll have fun, too.

Katopodis opened Manhattan Grill believing that locals were ready for a sophisticated dining option, but he didn’t want it to be a restaurant that was too pricey or pretentious.

He has succeeded on both counts.

Manhattan Grill Hilton
285 E. Hospitality Lane, San Bernardino 909) 889-0133 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for the buffet lunch, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Sunday brunch

Apple Strudel

Ingredients
2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces water (warm)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions
Place all of the ingredients in the fitted bowl with blade attachments of the food processor. Pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Continue mixing for two minutes. Remove dough from bowl.

Coat dough with one tablespoon vegetable oil. Wrap airtight with plastic
wrap. Allow to rest in a warm 70-degree area for 20 minutes.

Filling
Melted clarified butter
7 apples — peeled, cored and sliced thin
Zest of 2 lemons
2 cups granulate sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
vanilla wafers made into crumbs as needed

Directions
In a large bowl, toss together apples and zest. In a bowl, combine sugars and cinnamon. Add sugar mixture and raisins to the apples. Reserve.

Place dough on floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll dough to a 12-inch by 12-inch square. Lift dough and stretch dough until it is paper thin.

Spread dough with melted butter.

Spread vanilla wafer crumbs in a line across the bottom of the dough.

Place prepared apples on the line of crumbs and roll up. With a knife, trim ends.

Spray or brush with melted butter.

Bake in 375-degree oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

• • •

Applewood Smoked Meatloaf

Ingredients
3 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground veal
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 medium onions, fine dice
1 ⁄2cup parsley, chopped
3 whole eggs, stirred
2 sleeves of saltine crackers
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Tabasco

Directions
Combine ingredients, mix lightly (do not over-mix). Line loaf pans with applewood smoked bacon. Put mixture in loaf pans, cover tightly with foil and bake at 325 degrees until done. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.

Chef makes this a day in advance, slices it in serving-sized pieces, then sautés the slices to crisp them.

• • •

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Ingredients
90 washed cherrystone clams
1 gallon water

Directions
Combine clams and water in pot and cover. Steam clams open and toss any that
do not open. Pick over and chop clams.
Strain broth and set aside.
8 ounces salt pork
1 1⁄2 pounds onions, medium dice
1⁄2 pound carrots, medium dice
1 pound celery, medium dice
1⁄2 pound leeks, medium dice
1⁄2 pound green peppers, medium dice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 quarts tomatoes, peeled, seeded and
coarsely chopped
2 cup tomato purée
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon thyme
Clam broth
2 1⁄2 pounds potatoes (peeled or not), medium dice

Cooked clams (from above)

Add bay seasoning, Worcestershire, Tabasco, to taste

Salt and white pepper, to taste

Put salt pork in large pan and render.

Add onions, carrots, celery, leeks and green peppers and sauté until about half cooked. Add garlic and cook for a few more minutes.

Add tomatoes, tomato purée and herbs.

Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add clam broth

Add potatoes and simmer until tender.

Remove any oil that has come to the top.

Add clams and season to taste.

• • •

Beef short ribs

Ingredients
6 short ribs, cut 3 inches long
1 ⁄2cup all-purpose flour for coating
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cracked pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bottle red wine
1 cup stewed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium onions,
1 ⁄4-inch dice
3 carrots, diced
3 cups beef broth

Directions
In a bowl, combine
1⁄2cup flour, salt and pepper.

Roll and coat ribs in seasoned flour. In a large roasting pan, heat oil, sear and brown short ribs, add vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Add red wine and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add beef stock, cover and cook in 350-degree oven for about
90 minutes or until tender.