Travels help inspire Bartlett man's love of cooking
Before Giada, Ina and Bobby, there was just Julia. Our cook of the week, Michael Ek of Bartlett, remembers watching Julia Child on TV with his mother.
“My mom was one of those women who would gather all the food and cook simultaneously with Julia. She could imitate her voice pretty well,” smiles Michael, remembering.
It was his mother's return to work and his voracious appetite that introduced Michael to cooking.
“My younger brothers and I ate like horses with school and sports. Back then, we never went out to eat; restaurants were only for very special occasions, so cooking happened on a daily basis. I did more and more and got adventurous.”
Now an attorney with children who are also voracious eaters, Michael describes his blended family as “two-thirds Brady.” And out of the bunch, at least one son is showing an interest in cooking.
“I don't see cooking as being that difficult to do,” explains Michael. “It's learning the process, the organization, the timing. It takes confidence, but it's something you need to learn. If you go out and buy a couple of steaks — that's a lot of money — you don't want to mess it up!”
Still, Michael loves trying new things, and doesn't worry if something doesn't turn out.
“There's always a pizza just 30 minutes away!” he laughs. Some favorites are his lemon chicken and any form of pork tenderloin.
“Pork tenderloin is great. You can do all sorts of things with it: Asian, barbecue, roasted with rosemary,” Michael likes to keep notes on his recipes — what worked, what didn't. He also loves to post his successes on Facebook. Their friends are used to seeing posts from “Mike's BBQ lounge.”
“Which is our backyard,” he laughs.
Michael saves the adventurous cooking for the weekends. Lately, after traveling to Spain with his wife, Michael has become a fan of paella.
“It's a colorful dish that's very good and tasty,” he says. Michael's version is adapted to this area, skipping difficult-to-find seafood items, and using sausage, chicken and shrimp.
Michael and his wife love to travel and he is often inspired by food they have on a trip. Once in France, they were at a bistro and smelled something wonderful, and just ordered whatever it was that smelled so good. It turned out to be escargot, cooked in garlic, parsley and butter.
“We loved it. It's very easy to do — we even have little escargot plates now! Any time we go on a trip, we always find a food tour,” he says. “I don't think you should travel 3,000 miles to eat at McDonald's.”
In the past few years, Michael has added competing to his cooking repertoire. He competed with a friend in a barbecue competition and also won first place for his salsa at a festival in Elgin. He has joined a charitable organization concerned with providing food for the homeless. This past Thanksgiving he carved 30 turkeys for a dinner sponsored by the group.
The scientific nature of baking appeals to Michael as well.
“As I'm getting older I'm starting to enjoy desserts more,” he says. “I make a fruit tart that's really good and my wife likes my chocolate and raspberry torte. I like to make Madelines too.”
Aside from being inspired by his travels, Michael enjoys collecting cookbooks. He has several classics, including a Julia Child original edition. And yes, he has made several of her recipes.
“I like being in the kitchen. When I'm in the kitchen everything else is turned off. When something turns out well, it's a good feeling.” As Julia would say, “bon appétit!”