OpenSkies: business beds and great staff

Something new: the concept.

Something borrowed: a fine chef.

Something blue: the open skies that OpenSkies flies.

If ever there was a marriage made in heaven it’s OpenSkies airlines coupling all-business class service with low value pricing. Can’t beat the service or the deals.

Introduced in 2008, this airline, a subsidiary of British Airways, flies only from New York and Washington, D.C, to Paris. Its small and intimate approach—and its pricing—gives passengers much to love. Here, let me count the ways that OpenSkies rises above competition:

OpenSkies outfitted its fleet of four Boeing 757-200 planes to hold from 64 to 84 passengers. Each plane has only two cabins, both business class. One cabin sports business beds (luscious little pods that fully recline for sleeping), the other, business seats (wide leather seats reclining 140°). The small number of passengers allows

Washington Dulles International

for easy boarding and deplaning, as well as space, style and comfort throughout the flight.

The planes fly nonstop from Newark Liberty International airport and Washington Dulles International RT to Paris-Orly. Dulles and Orly are small and uncomplicated airports, easy to navigate and quick with check in and security. (Sorry, lack the experience to speak for Newark).

The airline offers plenty of perks, including pre-boarding access to airline lounges, truly accommodating staff and value pricing with occasional great bargains.

View from the window: an OpenSkies sunset

Oh, and of course, the food. Love is in the air for foodies, at least on the Dulles/Orly run where the airline hired Michel Richard, of renowned L.A. and D.C. fame, to dish up the catering.

I don’t say this lightly, but the best fish I have ever encountered on any airline was a Salmon with Eggplant served on Open Skies. After hunting literally high and low for a recipe that would allow me to enjoy the dish happily ever after, I found a home-cook’s facsimile in Michel Richard’s fabulous cookbook,

HAPPY IN THE KITCHEN (Artisan books, 2006, 352 pages, 151 recipes, good technique advice, and gorgeous photography. A must-have for the cookbook collector.).

The following recipe gives a taste of both OpenSkies and Michel Richard’s book. Both airline and book wed style to substance and offer much that is oh so easy to love….

EGGPLANT SALMON

(Recipe adapted from Michel Richard’s HAPPY IN THE KITCHEN)

Yield: 4 main course servings.

2 Japanese eggplants (4 to 5 ounces each)

About 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup chicken stock

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2/3 cup (14-inch) diced fresh mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

1/4 cup cut (1-inch pieces) garlic chives (about 10 chives)

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

2 large ripe tomatoes (about 6 ounces each), chopped

Pinch granulated sugar

4 center-cut salmon fillets, (each 6 to 8 ounces and cut 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick), skin and any pinbones removed (If the belly, a thinner fattier section of salmon is still attached, cut it away and reserve for another use.)

10 basil leaves, cut into julienne

To make stuffing: halve each eggplant, lengthwise. Lay each half cut side down on a work surface and cut into thin half-moon slices, no thicker than 1/8 inch. You should have about 3 cups of eggplant. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant. Using a rasp grater, grate the garlic directly onto the eggplant (or mince garlic and add it). Cook, turning the eggplant frequently for about 5 minutes, until it is softened and the garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken stock and simmer for about 2 minutes to reduce the stock and glaze the eggplant. Season with soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Spread the eggplant on a plate and let it cool to room temperature. When completely cool, scoop the eggplant into a bowl and gently stir in the mozzarella and chives. Taste and correct seasoning. Set aside until ready to use. (The stuffing can be held at room temperature for up to 2 hours.)

To make vinaigrette: heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes and sugar and simmer gently for 15 minutes.  Transfer the tomato mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325°F.

With a sharp knife, cut a vertical slit down the center of each salmon fillet, leaving the bottom 1/2-inch of salmon intact. With your hands or a spoon, pull the slits gently apart to make a pocket and stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the eggplant stuffing.

Place stuffed salmon on an oiled baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil over top. Set salmon in the preheated oven and bake for about 12 minutes, or until the stuffing is hot throughout.

Stir basil into the vinaigrette. Spoon some vinaigrette into the center of each serving plate. Top with the salmon. Serve.

Enchantment is a good name for the resort, as much about the property enchants, especially the Sedona location in the midst of the awesome red rocks of Boynton Canyon and the sophisticated Southwest-style accommodations. But perhaps the most enchanting aspect of Enchantment is the resort’s spa, Miiamo, (pronounced: me ah’ mo).

The word “mii amo” comes from the Yuman (an Arizona Native American tribe) word for “journey,’ and the spa helps guests journey into well-being. Treatments focus on the Native American and Ayurvedic; classes cover everything from Qi Gong to photography; and a slew of activities include hiking and mountain biking in the glorious Arizona surroundings.

Enchantment guests can use Mii amo as a day spa, but Mii amo is also an inclusive destination spa, complete with its own accommodations, shop and café.  It’s the café that grabs my heart.

It would be a transgression to use the word deprivation in connection with Mii amo Café’s food. The dishes are intelligently low calorie, low cholesterol, and organic whenever possible, but dishes are also so packed with flavor and beautifully presented, that one feels not only satisfied eating them, but also privileged.

Lucky for home cooks who want to sample some of Mii amo’s food magic, Enchantment chefs have recently released A JOURNEY OF TASTE (Chronicle books, 144 pages, $35), a cookbook containing about 50 of the spa’s most requested recipes.

A Journey of Taste's book jacket

Mii amo doesn’t serve traditional restrictive spa food, and likewise, the book is not your ordinary cookbook.

The book’s introduction tells more about the history of the spa and a typical day at the spa than about preparing spa food. And snippets of introductory information are meant to inspire the cook, rather than educate. Consider:

“When each bite is a delight, less is more.”

Steve Sicinski and Steve Bernstein, chefs whose recipes fill A Journey of Taste

“High-quality ingredients can be used in smaller measures because their taste carries culinary weight.”

“Delicious food feeds not just the body, but the soul.”

Recipes form the core of the book and these are divided into four chapters: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert. Appetizers, sauces, side dishes and beverages are incorporated into each “meal” chapter.

The book offers one recipe per page. Some recipes such as the Dried Fruit Compote have only two ingredients and two instruction sentences leaving much empty white space on the 9-3/4 by 10-inch page. Other recipes are longer. The Vegetarian Chili instructions run five paragraphs and the ingredient list has 27 items–one of them a vegetable stock with its own complete sub recipe on a different page; the vegetable stock calls for 13 ingredients. But even the more complicated recipes have easy to follow instructions, although some dishes such as the Filet Mignon with Truffled Peruvian Potatoes and Wild Mushroom Demi-glace take a little time- juggling, easier for a restaurant cook than a home cook trying to get a meal on the table. All recipes come with a nutritional analysis and a note on serving size. Serving suggestions and presentation tips are incorporated into most recipes.

Not all recipes have photos, which is a shame, as photos add a reference for the cook. Beside Mii amo believes that “Food should look beautiful as well as taste fantastic,” and visuals are an essential part of Mii amo food’s appeal.

Another small objection to this book is the section offering menu suggestions: For example the book suggests serving Apple Cottage Griddle Cakes with a Mayan Breeze Smoothie and a Blueberry Muffin. The griddle cakes are so good they don’t need a muffin—and besides, it seems odd to pair dishes based on apples and blueberries—fruits with different peak periods.

A JOURNEY OF TASTE may not be the ultimate reference cookbook, but the recipes are worth having and should please anybody trying to eat well and stay well.

The book is available from Mii amo’s shop and a sneak preview is available here:

APPLE COTTAGE GRIDDLE CAKES

Serves 5

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 large tart green apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and coarsely grated

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 cup low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese

I teaspoon canola or vegetable oil

Shreds of tart apple add moisture as well as flavor to these popular griddle cakes. Serve them warm, drizzled lightly with honey or brown rice syrup, or topped with fresh seasonal fruit.

Preheat an electric or stovetop griddle to about 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk gently to blend.

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and egg white until blended Stir in the apple and lemon zest. Add dry ingredients, folding until nearly blended. Fold in the cottage cheese.

Spray the hot griddle with the oil. Working in batches, spoon or ladle 1/4-cup portions of the batter onto the griddle, leaving about 2 inches between each griddle cake. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until bubbly and set around the edges. Turn over and cook 2 minutes longer, until cooked through and lightly golden. Keep the cooked griddle cakes warm while you cook the remaining batter. To serve, top as desired and serve warm.

251 cal. 4 g fat, 13 g prot, 45 g carb