No food snob, Anthony Bourdain liked mac & cheese, Dogfish beer

Anthony Bourdain had his passport stamped more than most people, and ate meals prepared by legendary chefs, but the TV culinary star wasn't a food snob.

I talked to Bourdain often over the years, ever since since meeting him in 2001 shortly after the release of his ground-breaking nonfiction book, "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly." 

We once had a conversation about Ferran Adria. I had met the famed Spanish chef at a private New York event and Bourdain had eaten at Adria's El Bulli in Catalonia just before what was considered "the best restaurant in the world" closed its doors in 2011. He had nothing but praise for the world-renowned chef.

But, in that same conversation, Bourdain was equally passionate in his admiration for Marilyn Hagerty, the 85-year-old newspaper columnist whose 2012 glowing review of the Olive Garden in her Grand Forks, North Dakota, town earned her nationwide scorn and sympathy.

"What we have here is a sincere, straightforward reportage on restaurants in a part of America that a lot of people who write about food and blog about food and post on message boards about food, like me, don't really see and don't really talk about," Bourdain told me in an 2012 interview. 

Remembering Anthony Bourdain's Delaware connections

"I see her work, her life's work, as, to a great extent, a history of American dining. Which restaurants that she reviewed are still around? What happened to them? What were they serving 45 years ago?"

Bourdain, who would later publish a book of Hagerty's columns from her decades-long career, said he found her writing and personal style "really refreshing and heartfelt."

"I like the way she handled herself very much during all of that scrutiny. I think she made all of us snarky bastards from the coast ... look small and bad. And I admire her for that."

Bourdain, who died in France on Friday at age 61 of an apparent suicide, toured the world through his Travel Channel show "No Reservations" and later CNN's "Parts Unknown."

But while he had an invitation to dine at any restaurant he wanted, Bourdain told me he was happy with a simple slice of ham in Spain, some runny cheese in France or a beer from Delaware's own Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton.

"The IPAs I've had there are my favorite," he said of Dogfish Head. "Some of their more creative stuff is lost on me, but I think their IPA is impeccable."

"A good meal," Bourdain once told The News Journal, "depends on who you're eating with and what's on the radio and what's happening around you, you know. I can't separate out the context from what's on the plate anymore."

In his 2016 cookbook "Appetites," Bourdain shared some of his favorite dishes and recipes.

"These are the dishes I like to eat and that I like to feed my family and friends," he wrote in the book's introduction.

"They are recipes that 'work,' meaning they've been developed over time and have been informed by repetition and long – and often painful – experience." 

Bourdain said there was "nothing remotely innovative about the recipes" in the book.

"If you are looking for a culinary genius to take you to the Promised Land of next-level creativity, look elsewhere. That ain't me." 

The cookbook features everything from chicken pot pie to meatloaf with mushroom gravy.  He was also an unabashed fan of a Thanksgiving feast.

Once on a conference call with food writers, some snarky reporter asked Bourdain what he was serving for the holiday. Duck, maybe? A goose, perhaps?

“I’m eating turkey. I’m not a Communist,” he said.  

Some Bourdain recipes from his cookbook have become favorites with my family, especially his take on macaroni and cheese. (Recipes follow for the mac and cheese and the meatloaf.) 

When he wasn't making it himself, Bourdain said one of his biggest and guiltiest pleasures was a clandestine trip to KFC for macaroni and cheese.

"I like The Colonel's," he joked and said he sometimes wore a hoodie and tried to slip in, unnoticed, but was usually spotted by fans.

"They're like, 'Oh, Anthony Bourdain!'" he said, and mimed a person holding a cellphone trying to take a snapshot of him.

He said disappointment usually followed along with a questioning, "Dude?" when the person realized Bourdain – of all people – was eating at the fast food establishment.

And then he laughed at all the smarty-pants who presumed he was above a meal at "The Colonel's."  

Here are two recipes from Anthony Bourdain:

MACARONI AND CHEESE

"Get that damn lobster out of my mac and cheese," Anthony Bourdain wrote in his "Appetites" cookbook (Ecco, 2016).

The CNN travel show host, who penned the book with his longtime assistant Laurie Woolever, says he also didn't want to see any truffle oil, which is 'made from a petroleum-based chemical additive and the crushed dreams of nineties culinary mediocrity."

If you add it, Bourdain wrote, "you should be punched in the kidneys."

When making the recipe for children, you might want to ease up on the amount of cayenne pepper suggested. It's a rich dish, however, and does require some pepper. Add a little at a time, and taste as you go. 

1 pound dry elbow macaroni

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 1/2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons mustard powder

2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper (Note: If you don't like much heat, dial back the amount of cayenne)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

8 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

5 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, grated

4 ounces cooked and thinly sliced ham, julienned (optional)

Freshly ground white pepper to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large, heavy-bottom pot, bring salted water to a boil and add the elbow macaroni. Cook according to the package instructions until just al dente, then drain and set aside. Make sure you have both a whisk and a wooden spoon nearby, and something to rest them on. You will be switching back and forth between the two utensils as you first make a roux and then build on that to make a bechamel.

In the still-hot macaroni pot, heat the butter over medium-high heat until it foams and subsides. Whisk in the flour, then switch to a wooden spoon and stir steadily over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to turn a nutty golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Do not let the mixture scorch. Whisk in the milk and bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring with the wooden spoon and making sure to scrape each part of the surface of the pan so that hunks of flour or milk do not stick. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook and stir until the mixture is slightly thicker than heavy cream.

Whisk in the mustard powder, cayenne, and Worcestershire, the add half the Parmigiano-Reggiano (you'll sprinkle the rest over the top) and the rest of the cheeses and, if using, the ham, and stir until the cheeses have melted completely. Stir in the cooked macaroni and mix well. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and optional pepper.

Transfer the mixture to a glass or ceramic casserole, top with the remaining Parmigiano, and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the mixture is bubbling slightly.

Serve hot, or refrigerate and gently reheat the whole thing, or in portions as needed. Makes 8 servings.

Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy

Bourdain called this recipe "an amalgam, intended to evoke all the important meat loaves in my life – and there have been many." 

2 1/2 tablespoon canola oil

1 large yellow of white onion, peeled and very finely chopped

3 ribs celery, very finely chopped

2 sprigs fresh marjoram, leaves only, very finely chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only, very finely chopped

Salt and finely ground black pepper to taste

2 pounds ground beef chuck

1 1/3 pounds ground veal

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound cremini mushrooms, diced

2 large or 3 to 4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups veal stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

Special Equipment

Instant-read thermometer

In a large, heavy-bottom sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat and add the onion, celery, marjoram, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables are soft and translucent but not browned. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Once the vegetable mixture is cool, add the beef, veal, eggs, bread crumbs, and about 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and mix well with scrupulously clean or rubber-gloved hands. Use the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to grease a loaf pan and transfer the mixture to the pan, packing it down gently. Cover the loaf with foil and place the loaf pan on a sheet pan. Cook in the oven for 1 hour.

Remove the foil and spread the top of the meat loaf with the tomato paste. Continue to cook for another 30 to 45 minutes, until the instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 150 degrees. Remove from the oven and let the meat loaf rest, in the loaf pan, on a wire rack.

While it rests, make the gravy. In a large, heavy-bottom sauté pan, heat the butter until it foams and subsides. Add the diced mushrooms and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until their released juices evaporate and the mushrooms begin to squeak against the surface of the pan when stirred. Add the shallots and salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until the mushrooms get browned and the shallots are translucent or slightly golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir well to evenly coat. Cook over medium heat, stirring more or less constantly, for about 2 minutes, to cook off the raw flour taste, then stir in the stock. Whisk the mixture to pull the stuck flour up from the surface of the pan and into the gravy. Add a splash more stock or water if necessary if the mixture seems too thick, then reduce the heat to low and stir in the cream. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve the meat loaf in slices, with the gravy ladled over or alongside. Accompany with mashed potatoes if you like. Makes 6 to 12 servings.

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Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico