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Tony Sansevero believes his recipes have to look and taste good.
Among his creations are, from left, Chilled Champagne de Melon
Soup, Chicken Marabella over Cous-Cous, Conchiglie shells with
Mushrooms and Radicchio, and in the middle, Caesar salad. |
Cook
of the Week:
Food with a Flair
Tony Sansevero
is an artist
at work and in the kitchen
By
Jeannie Albanese,
Sunday CNY
May 24, 1999
The artist
in Tony Sansevero can't help but creep into the kitchen when he's preparing
a gourmet meal. To Sansevero, 32, merely serving food isn't enough.
It has to be presented with flair.
That's why guests sip his cold champagne melon soup out of cantaloupe
halves, and spoon his ginger-pumpkin soup out of a huge gutted pumpkin
into small pumpkin bowls.
He's changed his clothes for each coarse, donning a sombrero to serve
a paella, an Italian character (not a difficult transformation) for
his 'killer' meatballs, and a big chef's hat and apron for the American
Kabob appetizers, and so on.
In truth, Sansevero's art and cooking go hand in hand. While developing
his art career, Sansevero, who also illustrates books, waited tables
for ten years, working for about five years as a captain in one of Donald
Trumps casinos. There, he watched chefs create gourmet meals (that cost
the diners hundreds or even thousands of dollars) and he learned a thing
or two about presentation.
He also worked in the restaurant at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,
where the menu changed with each museum exhibit.
Sansevero, who moved to Syracuse from Boston about a year ago, started
cooking as a young bachelor, as a means to survive. Eventually cooking
itself developed into an art.
While living in Boston, Sansevero regularly held dinner parties for
groups of 20 friends. Often they'd host theme nights, margaritas and
pasta for Clint Eastwood's 'Spaghetti Westerns', french movies with
French foods.
Each year, he hosts a birthday party for his dogs, Tasha & Frodo,
both rescued from an animal shelter and "spoiled rotten".
The dogs eat meatloaf birthday cake and the guests get chicken marabella,
one of Sansevero's favorite recipes.
"Now it's a passion, "he says. "And no one can go into
my kitchen when I cook. I have my own ways of doing things and they
are not always the cleanest way."
Regardless of cleanliness, Tony is our "Cook of the Week"
Look for his creations on paper and in the kitchen!
Chicken Marabella
5 pounds chicken quarters
1 head garlic, peeled and finely
pureed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
In a large bowl, combine chix. quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper, salt,
vinegar, olive-oil, prunes, capers, juice and bay leaves. Cover marinade
and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange chicken in a single layer on one
or two large shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over evenly. Sprinkle
chicken with brown sugar and pour wine around it. Bake for 50 minutes
to an hour, basting frequently with juices. Chicken is done when juices
run clear yellow, not pink, when pricked. Garnish with parsley, serve
over rice or cous-cous.
Chef's
Choice
Who Tony Sansevero of Syracuse
What cookbook do you use the most?
365 Ways to Cook Pasta and
"Vincent Prices Treasury of Great
Recipes"
What kitchen tool do you rely on?
One knife that cuts garlic like a dream.
What spice can't you live without? Garlic
Favorite dish for a crowd? Chicken Marabella
For a Family? Stuffed Cornish Game Hen with
dried fruit, over pesto cous-cous.
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