Anna's Oven offers comfort food with a cause
01.01.70
It’s not every day you wander into a café that has a charitable social mission attached. </p><p>A mod yet homespun café down the street from the University of Kansas Hospital, Anna’s Oven serves up affordable comfort food. Customers order at the counter from a well-edited menu that includes rotisserie chicken, chicken and noodles, a meatloaf dinner and variations on mac and cheese and lasagna, rounded out by a few salads, homey sides and an assortment of brownies, cobbler and cookies.</p><p>And everything on the menu is under $12.</p><p>Even at these prices, Anna’s Oven stands out for the quality of its food. But there is also a less obvious charitable mission at work. Anna’s Oven is part of a new breed of philanthropic restaurant concepts popping up across the United States. </p><p>The precise social causes and restaurant structures vary widely, but examples include Homegirl, a Los Angeles restaurant that gives at-risk women food-service jobs serving a Latin-inspired menu; and a gourmet pay-what-you-can restaurant just opened by singer Jon Bon Jovi in New Jersey. </p><p>The purpose of Anna’s Oven is to support the Friends of St. Anne, a nonprofit organization with the goal of helping to fund a girls school (<a href ="http://st-annes-girls-school.com/" target="_blank">st-annes-girls-school.com</a>) in Kapkemich, Kenya. So far, the group’s fundraisers have supplied the school with a library and a science lab, and eventually the friends plan to expand their efforts to include local educational projects.</p><p>The café is backed by 10 investors, including Ruth Schukman-Dakotas and her brother, John Schukman. Ruth’s son, Luke Dakotas, is on staff. The Schukmans are descendants of the café’s namesake, Anna Giebler, a Depression-era farm wife who lived near Hays, Kan., and was legendary among family and friends for her cooking and her generosity.</p><p>“Anna is really kind of a symbol for the generation of our grandparents and parents who have taught us to share,” says Schukman-Dakotas, who learned to cook by her grandmother’s side. “She was always serving the homeless, hobos and people who came to her back door.”</p><p>Schukman-Dakotas, a radiation safety officer at the University of Kansas Medical Center, shared her grandmother’s recipes with the cooks, while seasoned restaurateur Ling Chang, owner of Genghis Khan and Blue Koi, has guided the investors, a diverse group that includes teachers and a lawyer, through the ups and downs of a start-up restaurant.</p><p>Since opening at the end of June, Schukman-Dakotas says, the café has yet to make a profit, but they continue to tweak the concept, most recently adding Saturday breakfast items to the menu. The café also offers a take-out menu for those who want family- and party-sized servings. </p><p>Of course, the long-term success of the café will certainly need to reach beyond the warm fuzzies of a worthy cause.</p><p>On my first visit, a girlfriend and I sat at a long communal table decoupaged with vintage robots. We were deep in conversation when the hostess slid a beautiful pot pie with flaky brown pastry crust between us. The tasty sauce was studded with chunks of carrots and celery. A fresh, ruffled green salad accompanied the pot pie, an October special that has yet to go off the menu.</p><p> Less lovely to look at but every bit as satisfying was the beef and Italian sausage meatloaf dinner, which includes two sides, such as chunky mashed potatoes (oddly, gravy is an extra 50 cents) and seasonal vegetables, in this case half rings of roasted acorn squash with the peel on.</p><p>I returned on a Saturday afternoon with my 13-year-old daughter, Daniela, a comfort food fan if ever there was one. We also invited her friend, Ashton, and Ashton’s father, Eric. </p><p>Daniela went for traditional Italian sausage and pork lasagna, an Anna recipe Chang adores but could never quite find a place for in her Asian concepts. Daniela cleaned her plate, and I was surprised at this because she is less enthusiastic about my lasagna at home.</p><p> Ashton carbo-loaded, ordering mac and cheese and a side of mashed potatoes. The mac and cheese satisfied both girls, walking the fine line between bland cafeteria-style and overly rich gourmet versions. Its white sauce with American cheddar and Colby cheeses coated the noodles but thankfully never separated into an oily puddle.</p><p>Eric was duly impressed by the 10-Spice Rotisserie Chicken, a bronzed half of a plump, hormone-free bird that had been marinated 24 hours in wine, peppercorns, ginger and garlic and was served with two hearty sides.</p><p>Eric had a hard time finishing the dish, but with counter service I had already ordered a fall variation of bread pudding, his favorite dessert. He deemed the warm pumpkin bread pudding, a daily special, “exemplary.”</p><p> Meanwhile, I enjoyed my chicken and noodles that were paper-thin instead of the doughy planks that seem to define most versions, and Daniela dug into Ashton’s untouched mashed potatoes. She said they tasted like the ones I make — as in homespun chunky, not a silky smooth version made with a ricer.</p><p>“I personally think it’s good when my potatoes have a little oomph in them,” she said. “Potatoes are not meant to be all paper-white and smooth.”</p><p>Would Schukman-Dakotas recommend other nonprofits start cafés of their own?</p><p>“I’d say don’t do it unless you have someone who is a successful restaurateur to guide you.”
Source: Kansas City Star
Cooking 101 | Simple Chicken Dinner With a Twist
01.01.70
Want a work-night alternative to a stop at the grocery store deli for rotisserie chicken and fixings?</p><p>Try this menu, developed by Johnson County Community College chef apprentice Loan Ha. It’s packed with flavor and nutrients, and it goes together in about an hour if you plan ahead and soak the dried beans.</p><p>Ha suggests getting the chicken in the oven first, followed by the golden beets.</p><p>Clean the kale so it’s ready to go when it’s time to sauté, then peel and cook the kohlrabi. Once it’s on the stove, you’ll want to start cooking the beans.</p><p>While the chicken is resting after it’s removed from the oven, finish the bean and puree recipes.</p><p>Not familiar with kohlrabi? It’s a member of the cabbage family. The bulb is actually the plant’s stem. It can be eaten raw or cooked. If the greens are attached to the bulb when you purchase it, try cooking them using your favorite collard greens recipe.</p><p>Kale, too, is a member of the cabbage family and has come to be regarded as a nutrition powerhouse. It’s a great source of vitamins A and C, as well as fiber. Don’t buy kale too far in advance, and choose kale with a bright green color. You’ll want to remove the tough stems before cooking.</p><p>Agave nectar may be a new ingredient, as well. It comes from the agave, or century plant. You can find it in the health food section of most grocery stores. It adds a sweet taste to the butter bean recipe.</p><p>Want your chicken to come out of the oven in great shape? Ha suggests these three tips to success:</p><p> <span class="bold">1.</span> Tuck the wings under the bird.</p><p> <span class="bold">2.</span> Cut a slit in the tail skin</p><p> <span class="bold">3. </span>Cross legs, insert top leg through the slice in the tail skin.</p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Roasted Chicken With Fresh Oregano and White Pepper</h3></p><p></span></p><p><span class="howto_volume">Makes 2 servings</p><p></span></p><p><span class="howto_components">1 (3 1/2-pound) roasting chicken</p><p>1/2 medium yellow onion</p><p>1 small carrot</p><p>1 rib celery</p><p>3 sprigs oregano</p><p>1 tablespoon ground white pepper (preferrably ground by hand with mortar and pestle)</p><p>1 teaspoon kosher salt</p><p></span>Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash chicken, inside and out. Pat dry. Fill cavity with onion, carrot, celery and oregano. Tuck wings under. Make slit in tail skin; cross chicken legs and insert top leg through slice to keep bird in proper shape for roasting. Season with white pepper and kosher salt.</p><p>Place in a 12-by-12-inch roasting pan; place pan in preheated oven and cook for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 degrees and cook another 15 to 20 minutes, until the leg joints are loose in the sockets and internal temperature registers 165 degrees.</p><p>Remove from oven and let rest, covered, for 20 minutes before serving. </p><p><span class="howto_facts">Per serving: 757 calories (61 percent from fat), 50 grams total fat (14 grams saturated), 252 milligrams cholesterol, 8 grams carbohydrates, 64 grams protein, 1,189 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.</p><p></span></p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Butter Beans Sautéed With Braised Kale</h3></p><p></span></p><p><span class="howto_volume">Makes 2 servings</p><p></span></p><p><span class="howto_components">1 cup dried butter beans or 1 (14.5-ounce) can butter beans, rinsed and drained </p><p>4 cups chicken stock, divided</p><p>1 bay leaf</p><p>1 sprig thyme</p><p>1 tablespoon olive oil</p><p>1 1/2 pounds kale (about 2 bunches), washed and center stem removed</p><p>1 clove minced garlic</p><p>1/4 cup apple cider vinegar</p><p>1/8 cup agave nectar</p><p>Salt and pepper to taste</p><p></span>Two days before serving, place dried butter beans in water. Soak for two days, changing the water each day.</p><p>Place soaked beans in 2-quart saucepan with 3 cups chicken stock. Tie bay leaf and thyme into a sachet; add to pot with beans. Simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and drain. Cover and set aside.</p><p>In large skillet, heat olive oil. Add kale leaves. Add garlic and toss lightly; do not brown the garlic. Add vinegar and agave nectar; simmer until almost dry. Add 1 cup chicken stock and simmer until tender, about 7 minutes. Add cooked butter beans, and keep warm until ready to serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.</p><p><span class="howto_facts">Per serving: 653 calories (18 percent from fat), 15 grams total fats (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 105 grams carbohydrates, 52 grams protein, 243 milligrams sodium, 32 grams dietary fiber.</p><p></span></p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Roasted Yellow Beet and Kohlrabi Puree</h3></p><p></span></p><p><span class="howto_volume">Makes 2 servings</p><p></span></p><p><span class="howto_components">2 large golden beets, about 12 ounces</p><p>2 large kohlrabi, about 12 ounces, peeled</p><p>1 tablespoon olive oil</p><p>Salt and pepper</p><p></span>Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub beets with oil and place in small roasting pan. Roast beets for 20 minutes or until tender.</p><p>Remove from oven and let cool just enough to touch. With towel, remove skin. Set aside.</p><p>Place kohlrabi bulb in lightly salted water in 1 quart saucepan and boil until tender. Remove from water and dry.</p><p>Place beets and kohlrabi in blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. </p><p><span class="howto_facts">Per serving: 155 calories (38 percent from fat), 7 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 21 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein, 123 milligrams sodium, 9 grams dietary fiber.</p><p></span>
Source: Kansas City Star
