Every March, the faculty at The Lexington School has a dinner to showcase the talents of one of its members.
About 20 years ago. former teacher John Foxx encouraged his friend Tom Parlanti to share his “gift for cooking” with the faculty.
Parlanti, who now is coordinator of the Health, Physical Education and Athletic Department at the school, agreed to cook an Italian dish for the group, while the others brought salads, appetizers, and desserts. For years he cooked his Italian specialties.
Although that’s what Parlanti is known for, he can cook any cuisine, make homemade sausage, and decorate wedding cakes.
Parlanti credits his mother and father, Mary and Vic Parlanti, for passing along a rich
culinary tradition.
“My Mom has catered in some form or fashion as long as I can remember. She cooked meals for the staff at our church (The Newman Center) when I was in elementary school. That was probably her first ‘job’ per se. All her catering was probably an outgrowth of that sort of thing. She loves cooking and sharing her talent with others. She has taught cooking classes, and ran the kitchen at Amatos, and owned The Kitchen at Chevy Chase,” he said.
“Dad started making Italian sausage shortly after we moved from Binghamton, N.Y.
(my birthplace) to Lexington. I have always helped him, and make a lot of sausage myself these days. Dad only makes it occasionally now. I have added several other types to the list including, bratwurst, chorizo, bangers, bierwurst, as well as the famous Italian sausage.
“All in all, I would say I was inspired by my mother and father to do what I love to do. Mom was always in the kitchen making things from scratch. I follow that same pattern today. Along the way I have worked with, or come in contact with people that have taught me things and I have adapted their skills or recipes to suit my needs. In fact, I am now teaching a culinary arts class to the eighth grade. I am passing on the things I have learned to the next generation,” he said.
Long before Parlanti decided on a career in education, he was cooking.
“My first paid cooking job was at Charlie Browns in 1979. I worked in the restaurant portion that was upstairs. I started on the salad bar detail and worked my way to cook.I had a great mentor there named Kevin Cormney, who taught me how to make basic sauces like a béchamel. He also helped me buy my first chef’s knife that I still use today. After Charlie Brown’s I worked at T.W. Lees, Papania’s on Lane Allen, then for Mom (who was the head chef) at Amato’s until 1985 or ‘86. I worked alongside Joe and John Castro as a sauté cook. I also made pasta,” he said.
“Once Amato’s was sold to Tracy Farmer, Mom bought Southern Salads with Dad, Barbara Whitlock, and David Pennington. Once they sold that, Mom opened The Kitchen At Chevy Chase in the late 80’s. I remember working there in the afternoons and evenings when my son Andrew was still an infant. I did a lot of prep work, sauces, meal preparations, etc. That was when I started decorating wedding cakes, which I have done since. I am self taught on the hand work for the cakes and now I do and the baking also,” Parlanti said.
When the Community Committee at the school decided on a Mexican theme for this
year’s party, Parlanti decided to tackle labor-intensive tamales for the first time. He started with his mom’s recipe.
“My mom grew up in Louisville and her mother had won a contest sponsored by the Courier -Journal for her tamales. Apparently the recipe came from a Hispanic woman that Mom Smythe (my Mom’s mom) knew. They made them frequently and were known for how good they were. I took that basic recipe and changed it to suit my tastes.
“Mom’s recipe called for ground beef and I used shredded sirloin tip and pork. Once I decided on that, I knew I would need some other dishes to balance out the menu. I took a variety of recipes and took what I liked and went from there. I ended up adding mole poblano, and quesadillas, as well.”
Here are two of Parlanti’s recipes.
Shredded pork tamales
Pork butt:
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork butt in 1 piece, trimmed of all but a thin layer of fat
1 whole head garlic, un-peeled, cut crosswise in 1/2
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 large bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
Masa:
10 pounds masa (cornmeal flour)
1/4 cup water
3 heaping tablespoons baking powder
1/4 cup salt
4 cups vegetable shortening, boiled and cooled
Chile sauce:
5 whole dried California chiles
2 whole dried New Mexico chiles
2 whole dried pasilla chiles
2 pounds tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
3 tablespoons salt
2 cups water (stock saved from boiling chiles and tomatoes)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
To cook the pork butt: Place pork butt in large Dutch oven or medium-size stock pot. Add garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt. Add enough cold water to cover by at least 3 inches. Bring just to a boil on high heat, quickly reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer, partly covered, skimming any froth from the top during the first 15 to 20 minutes of cooking. A piece this size should be well-cooked but not dried out in 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from stock and let cool to room temperature. When cool, pull meat into fine shreds.
Strain and degrease the stock. It will be easier to remove fat when thoroughly chilled.
Can be kept, tightly covered, 2 days in the refrigerator, if de-greased at once, up to 1 week if you leave the top layer of fat on it until ready to use. The stock also freezes well. In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded pork with the red chile sauce.
To make the chile sauce: In a large saucepan, boil chiles and tomatoes together for about 10 minutes or until softened. Drain the chiles and tomatoes and reserve the water (stock.) Set stock aside. Rinse seeds out of boiled chiles at sink. Grind garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and whole cumin with mortar and pestle. Put chiles, tomatoes, 3 additional tablespoons salt and ground ingredients together in blender and blend well. Add 2 cups of the reserved water (stock.)
In a heavy, medium-size saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat until rippling. Add flour, stirring constantly until golden. Add strained chile puree to the pan and reduce the heat to low. It will splatter, so be careful. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the raw taste is gone and the flavor of the chiles has mellowed, about 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded pork with the chile sauce.
Beef tamales
2 pounds beef shoulder roast
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 garlic bulb, cloves removed and peeled
4 ounces dried New Mexico chilies
2 ounces ancho chiles
2 ounces pasilla chiles
2 tablespoons cumin seed, toasted
1 tablespoons salt
2 bags dried corn husks, about 3 dozen
4 cups masa mix
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups reserved beef broth, warm
1 cup vegetable shortening
Season the beef shoulder all over with salt and pepper then brown in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Once browned on all sides, add enough water to cover the roast along with the 1 sliced onion and about 6 cloves of garlic. Cook until the meat is fork tender and comes apart with non-resistance, about 2 hours. When done, remove the roast to a platter to cool, reserve the beef broth. Hand shred the meat and set aside.
To prepare the sauce, remove the tops of the dried chilies and shake out most of the seeds. Place the chilies in a large stockpot and cover them with water. Add the cumin, remaining sliced onion and garlic. Boil for 20 minutes until the chiles are very soft. Transfer the chiles to a blender using tongs and add a ladle full of the chile water (it is best to do this in batches.) Puree the chiles until smooth. Pass the pureed chiles through a strainer to remove the remaining seeds and skins. Pour the chili sauce into a large bowl and add salt, stir to incorporate. Taste to check seasonings, add more if necessary. Add the shredded beef to the bowl of chili sauce, and mix thoroughly.
Refrigerate until ready to use. Go through the dried cornhusks, separate them and discard the silk, be careful since the husks are fragile when dry. Soak them in a sink filled with warm water for 30 minutes to soften. In a deep bowl, combine the masa, baking powder, and salt. Pour the broth into the masa a little at a time, working it in with your fingers. In a small bowl, beat the vegetable shortening until fluffy. Add it to the masa and beat until the dough has a spongy texture. Rinse, drain, and dry the corn husks. Set them out on a sheet pan covered by a damp towel along with the bowls of masa dough and beef in chili sauce. Start with the largest husks because they are easier to roll. Lay the husk flat on a plate or in your hand with the smooth side up and the narrow end facing you. Spread a thin, even layer of masa over the surface of the husk with a tablespoon dipped in water.
Do not use too much. Add about a tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of the masa. Fold the narrow end up to the center then fold both sides together to enclose the filling. The sticky masa will form a seal. Pinch the wide top closed. Stand the tamales up in a large steamer or colander with the pinched end up. Load the steamer into a large pot filled with 2-inches of water. The water should not touch the tamales. Lay a damp cloth over the tamales and cover with lid. Keep the water at a low boil, checking periodically to make sure the water doesn’t boil away. Steam the tamales for 2 hours.
The tamales are done when the inside pulls away from the husk. The tamale should be soft, firm and not mushy. To serve, unfold the husk and spoon about a tablespoon of remaining beef filling on top.
