As someone who is passionate about both food and music, finding someone else who resides near that same intersection is always fun. But it’s even more fun when that someone is someone like Jennie Kelley, who was one of the last remaining contestants on Season 2 of Fox’s hit reality show, “Masterchef.” Jennie is also a choral member of the 21-person symphonic group Polyphonic Spree, who released a holiday song, “It’s Christmas,” on their own Good Records Recordings label. We had the opportunity to chat with Jennie about–what else? Food and music.

Mikey’s Kitchen: So how often do people make the connection between Jennie Kelley from the Spree and Jennie Kelley from “Masterchef,” and are you surprised either way?

Jennie Kelley: More often than not, if I am recognized it’s for “MasterChef.” Not so much with the Spree. There’s a lovely level of anonymity that comes from being in a 20-person ensemble! Oh and yes, I’m always a little surprised when it happens because it’s usually when the show is the last thing on my mind. But it’s always cool… people usually want to know how much drama was really going on and if we stay in touch. Which, by the way, we do. We all have this food boot camp connection and a bond that’s unbreakable.

MK: How has your life changed since the show, and what projects are you working on food-related?

JK: My life is totally different. Ya know, I actually went on the show as a way to segue out of a job that was creatively unfulfilling and to get my food critiqued by true chefs. After being gone for a couple of months for filming I realized there was no way I could ever go back to doing something that wasn’t inspiring. I’d had this notion for a while that I’d like to try to get into food styling. So when I got back I did just that. I assisted for free sometimes, just to learn, as it’s a very unique field. The fact that I did the show and got as far I did also helped. A lot of clients took a chance on me because they knew I must be pretty passionate about food to have gone through the wringer that is “MasterChef.”

MK: Your favorite thing to cook, and your favorite thing for someone else to cook for you?

JK: I am savory all the way. So I don’t really do a lot of sweets at home. My favorite thing to cook is always changing, but right now I’m really into homemade pastas and braised meat of any kind. My favorite thing for someone else to cook? Dessert, yep, definitely dessert.

MK: Are any of the other members of the Spree foodies and if so, in what capacity?

JK: For sure. Tim (DeLaughter) and Julie (Doyle) are definitely passionate about food and are great eaters/diners. They’re very open to trying what’s current and modern. Although, sometimes if Tim finds something he really loves, it’ll hinder him breaking out. We were in Sweden once and he got on a Swedish meatball kick. He couldn’t get enough of it and ordered it almost everywhere we went. Jenny Kirtland’s brother is a chef, so she’s pretty in-the-know and has a great palate. And they’ve all been incredibly encouraging of my culinary journey and more supportive than I can describe here.

MK: Have you been to any of the restaurants of the “Masterchef” judges?

JK: Yes, I’ve been to Osteria Mozza, Joe Bastianich’s place in Los Angeles. I’ve been there twice, actually, once when Joe was there. He’s an unbelievable host, has great front-of-house skills and you could tell he knew what was going on everywhere. The food there is killer. The other time the service wasn’t so great, but it was close to kitchen closing time. And even though there were some major service hiccups, the food was still stellar. I am also mad for Eataly in NYC. I was there for the first time last weekend and had two great dishes (lobster spaghetti and orecchiette with sausage and pesto). The entire space is a culinary dream.

MK: Lastly, if you have holiday recipe to share or link to one, that would rock…..

JK: Yeah, I like to do a few appetizers… something for people to nibble on while the big meal is being made. You can prep them the night before and just pop them in the oven the next day. I’ve got a “devils on horseback” link here: (http://www.theperfectlastbite.com/2011/05/devils-on-horseback.html) or shortened here: (http://bit.ly/pVgpxB). The trick is the taleggio cheese-simply delicious. You can also use prosciutto instead of bacon to change it up a bit.

For more information about Polyphonic Spree, please visit here.
For more information about Jennie Kelley, please visit www.theperfectlastbite.com

It’s amazing how being away from your kid and pet for a night makes you sleep a few hours later than normal, but that’s what happened this past Saturday. Mrs. Mike and I slept off our Friday night food coma, grabbed some a small breakfast at the bagel shop downstairs in the hotel we were staying at, and then walked around town for a couple hours before arriving at Frontera Grill for our 1pm lunch reservation. If you’re not familiar, Frontera Grill is owned and operated by celebrity chef Rick Bayless, who is a Top Chef Master. And his MO is fresh and creative Mexican food. Even before I tell you what we had, my mouth is watering, the food was that freaking good and quite honestly, the highlight of our trip.

First, after discussing that maybe we should forgo the alcohol and try to enjoy the food more, Mrs. Mike read in an article posted in the Frontera window that the cocktails are as good as the food. Well, duh. We’ll take two blue agave margaritas, please. You want to talk about fresh tasting, smooth and butt-kicking all at the same time? Man, were those tasty. And by tasty I mean tasty and butt-kicking.

Then we shared an apps platter that had the following–cheese quesadillas, which were more like little empanadas; chicken and black bean taquitos; fresh guacamole and chips; tuna ceviche on tortilla chips; and a salad of jicama, pineapple and cucumber dusted with chili powder. Holy freaking crap. The quesadillas were fried pillows of deliciousness. The taquitos were also delicious, but had a semi-interesting flavor we couldn’t pinpoint. The guacamole was fresh and tasty. Even the chips were phenomenal. The ceviche was fresh and not in the least bit fishy, and I must say that even as I must say I don’t really eat or like seafood. But I would eat that again. And the jicama salad was something I’d order even as a meal–the chili powder, I’m sure, was homemade like everything else, and really brought the crisp jicama to life.

For the main course, Mrs. Mike had the sopitos–corn cakes with chorizo, chicken and scrambled eggs with black beans and cheese sauce. The one bite I had was delicious, but I want to tell you that my main course–the huevos vechios (I could not find this item on the menu online and will correct it when I confirm what it was called), was one of the ten best meals I’ve ever had. It was masa corn cakes with poached eggs, chorizo and a poblano cream sauce. It was spicy, and creamy and the eggs were done to perfection; plus, the chorizo was tangy and delicious and a few days later my mouth is still watering.

Finally, we closed our meal with a dessert of zucchini donuts with chocolate sauce, cinnamon ice cream, candied zucchini and glazed walnuts. Damn. If that was borderline orgasmic reading it, imagine what it was like eating it. Yeah, it was that good.

Oh, two other things–we saw Bayless when he poked his head out of the kitchen to see what was going on in the restaurant. That was cool. And the homemade hot sauces (made fresh daily) were just unbelievable–especially the habanero one, that was equally tasty and explosive.

You know, when we go back to Chicago and intend to try more restaurants, I think I will insist that we return to Frontera Grill–maybe even for dinner this time if we can get in (I think you have to make reservations for dinner like 2-3 months in advance). And if you go there, you must eat at Frontera or Bayless’ other gem in the same location, Topolobampo. I know we’ll be back and maybe we’ll see you there.

Last year I had the privelege of interviewing celebrity chef Michael Symon from Food Network and Cleveland, Ohio’s Lola Bistro as well as several other endeavors on Bullz-Eye.com. Here is a re-post of that interview….enjoy!

Iron Chef Michael Symon rose to prominence in the culinary world in the ‘90’s, and even hosted a show on the Food Network called The Melting Pot. Fast forward thirteen years, and Symon has several successful restaurants in his native Cleveland, Ohio (Lola Bistro being the most notable). And he was the winner of the inaugural “Next Iron Chef” season back in 2007, joining the ranks of Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Cat Cora and Masaharu Morimoto as Iron Chefs on the network. Symon also has published a book, Michael Symon: Live to Cook. We had the chance to talk to Symon recently about being a successful restaurateur, as well as being a Food Network star and a huge Cleveland sports fan.
Michael Symon: Hello?

Bullz-Eye: Michael?

MS: Yes.

BE: Hey, it’s Mike Farley with Bullz-Eye.com. Before we get to the interview, I wanted to tell you I lived in Cleveland for ten years.

MS: Oh nice.

BE: So you’ve really risen to national prominence in the last few years after winning “The Next Iron Chef.” How did it feel to essentially become a famous Food Network personality over night like you did?

MS: It’s interesting. In the culinary world I was always pretty well known nationally. And the restaurant and myself have been fortunate enough to win a lot to national awards and get exposure in that way. Obviously we’ve always had some good success here in Cleveland. It changes a lot. I had a show on the Food Network from ’97 to ’99, so I got a little bit of a taste of it then, and walked away from it and continued to focus on restaurants again. I think having that early, (well, Food Network wasn’t nearly as big then as it is now), but getting some of that early exposure helped me understand and deal with what’s happened since “Iron Chef.”

BE: OK. What show was that?

MS: It was called “The Melting Pot.”

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