The macaroni and cheese glistens under the glare of the evening lights, a golden crust of Cheddar cheese spread over curls of elbow macaroni—inviting, unapologetic, conjuring images of home-cooked meals eaten in the comfort of a warm kitchen. Beside it the meat loaf drips with a rich brown gravy and looks equally tempting.
Both are comfort food in the true American tradition, and they’re part of the All-American Buffet Dinner currently being served Sundays through Thursdays at Café Marriott. July 4 was US Independence Day, and Marriott, being an American brand, probably thought it might as well celebrate the whole month with an American accent.
For this event, Marriott Hotel flew in chef John Havens from his post in Saudi Arabia to oversee the preparation of the All-American dishes. The buffet spread includes, aside from the classic mac and cheese and the meat loaf, regional American specialties as well. Occupying prime spaces on the buffet table are a steaming cauldron of thick gumbo soup made spicier with slices of Louisiana sausages; country fried steak, fillets of deep-fried tenderloin of beef; and a tortilla station with fixings of guacamole, tomato salsa, refried beans, jalapeño peppers, sour cream and cheddar cheese.
They’re so mouthwatering one is almost tempted to ignore the prawns, crabs and other seafood that are also on the buffet.
And then there’s the other attraction: juicy, succulent US Angus rib-eye steak, grilled on the spot and slathered generously with steak butter. The side dishes include baked potatoes, fresh corn, tater tots and mashed potatoes, the latter having just the right ratio of chunkiness to smoothness.
For dessert, there’s a table of classic American pies: apple pie with crumb topping, key lime pie with swirls of meringue, and pecan tarts.
Most of the ingredients were brought in from the US.
“They were all here already when I arrived,” Havens says, and points to Marriott’s director of food and beverage Brendan Mahoney as the man responsible.
As part of the American festivities, Havens also conducted a cooking class last week, where he showed us how to make grilled tuna encrusted with togarashi as well as marinated grilled flank steak. According to Havens, flank steak—though a lesser cut of beef—can be made tender and juicy with the right marinade and correct cooking technique.
The dishes were paired with Beringer wines: a light, crisp, slightly sweet Chenin Blanc that appropriately balanced the spiciness of the tuna, and a fruity dry Cabernet Sauvignon to complement the flank steak.
For dessert, the class was served an American classic: chocolate chip pecan pie. Pecan nuts and chocolate chips? Now that’s making a good thing even better.
Here’s my recipe for this lip-smacking dessert.
Pecan Pie with Chocolate Chips
For the crust:
- c graham cracker crumbs
- tbsp sugar
- ¼ c melted butter
For the pie filling:
- 3 eggs
- ½ c sugar
- c Karo Light or Dark Corn Syrup
- tbsp butter, melted
- tsp vanilla
- c coarsely chopped pecans
- ½ c semisweet chocolate chips
Make the crust:
Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press firmly onto the bottom of a nine-inch pie pan. Set aside.
Make the pie filling:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Beat the eggs in a medium bowl then stir in the sugar, corn syrup, melted butter and vanilla. Add the pecans and chocolate chips. Blend well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until pie firms up and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool slightly before serving. If desired, serve with whipped cream or with vanilla ice cream.
The All-American Buffet is served at dinner time at Café Marriott, Marriott Hotel, from Sundays to Thursdays until July 31. For reservations, call tel. 9889999.
For more tips, recipes and stories, visit the author’s blog, www.normachikiamco.com, and Facebook fan page, www.facebook.com/normachikiamco. Follow on Twitter @NormaChikiamco.
Cook’s tips:
Aside from graham cracker crust, you can also use regular pie crust.
The pie may mound up in the center when you first remove it from the oven. Just let it cool for a while; the mound will flatten by itself and be on the same level as the pie’s surface.
You can also use semisweet chocolate chunks.
