Michael Symon's Live to Cook_ Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen - Michael Symon [1]
Michael’s pedigree is predominantly Greek and Italian, so his food often tastes like it’s been flown in from the Mediterranean. You’ll find lots of Greek yogurt, tons of lemon, fish cooked in grape leaves, and handfuls of savory pastas to fill your table.
Since he lives in Cleveland, Ohio (which, by the way, makes him a huge fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Browns, and he roots as hard as anyone I’ve seen), his Midwestern sensibilities also come into play when he cooks. Michael encourages not only flavor but also abundance and embraces dishes like pierogies, an Eastern European answer to the dumpling, which he fills with beef cheeks and laces with horseradish. He also shares a full roster of sausages and charcuterie that tie his Midwestern pride to his olive oil bloodline.
Chef Symon isn’t just obsessed with pork—it’s a part of his lifestyle. He doesn’t just teach you how to cook a pork chop or two—although I am looking forward to checking out his rack of pork with grilled peaches and chestnut honey—Michael uses pork as his “ace in the hole,” a card he plays often and with tremendous results. He uses pork cheeks in chili, braises greens with bacon, pairs pork belly with polenta and wild mushrooms, and wraps walleye in bacon. He hits a pork double in something he calls a “BBLT,” which combines pork belly and bacon. Then there’s the puree of pea soup, which he uses as a canvas for three pork provisions: bacon, ham hocks, and spare ribs. I say: Bring it! And for lots of fun, let’s not forget the crispy pig ears! Could any other recipe prove just how dedicated he is to embracing every last edible part of his beloved pig? You may have reservations now, but believe me—Michael will make a convert out of you.
Michael is always easy to find in a crew; just listen for his infectious laugh, a signature of his genuine personality. He is high energy and good humored, with a heart of gold and a passion for all things delicious. Michael is the cook you want guiding you in your own kitchen. Just listen to what Symon says! I promise it will be worth it.
It’s been a fact of my life and of my work, and it’s one of the most important things I know: food brings people together.
I grew up in a family that loves food and truly loves to cook. My mom, Angel, born to Greek and Italian parents, always cooked from scratch when I was a kid and, with one exception I’ll explain, I don’t remember a time when we didn’t sit down together to eat and talk about the day. Importantly, all the men in my family were great cooks, too. My dad, Dennis, has roots in what is now Ukraine. And so I was raised with this Greek-Italian-Slovakian-melting-pot food mentality.
When I say that I was fortunate to grow up in a family that loved to cook and gathered at the table every night, it’s no small statement. In fact, it’s the primary influence in my life as a chef; it determined who I am and the food I cook. All those meals I ate growing up, those aromas from the kitchen.
Of course there were professional culinary influences—gleaned from cooking school, from Cleveland chefs under whom I apprenticed, and from chefs beyond who became my colleagues, such as Jonathan Waxman and Bobby Flay—but all of the learning sits on the big rock of what I call heritage food, the food given to me by my mom and dad and their families in North Olmsted, a working-class suburb of Cleveland.
The weekday food growing up was from Mom—lasagna, braised beef, pork neck ragù—big hearty meals served family-style at a dinner table that often featured friends from the block. My dad was a night-shift manager at a Ford auto plant, but he was able to eat with us before heading to work, and when we were getting up, he’d be getting home—hungry for potato pancakes or amazing salami sandwiches.
Weekends throughout my childhood, my dad’s dad, Pap, a pipefitter, would take me to Cleveland