Cooking on the American Riviera - Santa Barbara

Dinner at Hearst Castle - Enchanting

 

North Terrace - Photo Bob Dickey

The Central Coast Wine Classic is now in its 26th year. The next event will take place from Thursday, July 8 through Sunday, July 11. The event is a lifestyle week focused on the wines of the central California coast and features dinners, celebrity chefs and lifestyle auctions. The event is help under the auspices of The Central Coast Wine Classic Foundation. The Foundation awards monies from the Central Coast Wine Classic to fund grants on specific projects for non-profits from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties whose purposes and missions involve the studio arts, the performing arts and the healing arts.

 

Neptune Pool - Photo Bob Dickey

The dinner at Hearst Castle is the premier event of the week. Guests are conducted on a private tour of the caste and then gather around the Neptune pool for amuse bouche prepared by myself. The reception is followed by a sumptuous feast served on the north terrace overlooking the vast expanse of the ranch. This years guest chefs include Emeril Lagassee, Tory McPhail, Susan Spicer assisted by local Chefs James Sly and Michael Hutchings (moi).

 

Michel Richard's Roasted Tomato Soup, 2009 Castle Dinner - Photo Bob Dickey

For more information on the event, contact Archie McLaren at  archie@slonet.org or call (805) 544-1285.

 

Want a Date?

 

Dates from DaVall Date Gardens, Thermal California

It must be that the Santa Barbara Farmers Market is a big draw for farmers all over central and southern California. Farmer DaVall drives all the way from Thermal, California, some 300 plus miles, to sell at the local market. The DaVall farms grows dates. I remember having dates as a kid. Those were the dried fruit packs that were once popular to send from California (land of fruits and nuts it is said). Later in life we would stop at Hadley's on the way to Palm Springs and get the obligatory date shake. Hadley Fruit Orchards was founded by Paul and Peggy Hadley in 1931 in Banning, California.

The other date place in the area was Shields Date Garden in Indio, California. From their web page: "Floyd and Bess Shields came to the California desert in 1924 and started Shields Date Garden, working long and hard to build up their business and educate their customers about date culture. In the beginning, Mr. Shields would give his lecture in the garden. As the popularity of his lecture grew, Mr. Shields incorporated a slide show, then recorded his presentation in conjunction with the slide show so that the show could be run several times a day. Today, the 15-minute film Romance and Sex Life of the Date shows continuously during store hours, where you can still hear Mr. Shields talking about his favorite subject: the Date."

A brief history from Wikedia: "Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated around the Persian Gulf, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BCE. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia in 6000 BCE. (Alvarez-Mon 2006).

In later times, Arabs spread dates around South and South West Asia, northern Africa, and Spain and Italy. Dates were introduced into Mexico and California by the Spaniards by 1765, around Mission San Ignacio."

Back to DaVall. They were offering three varieties this past week, Barhi (mild caramel aftertaste), honey(like is say, very sweet and soft) and aracada dates. The aracada is the one that got my attention as they are dark as black ink with a slightly fibrous skin and a medium soft, sweet meat.

Chef Michael

Here are a few recipes right from the farm.

 

Chayote Squash-Gourd

 

Chayote at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market

This squash-gourd has been used since the time of the Aztecs. The word for chayote is Spanish, borrowed from the Nahuatl word chayotli.It also is called sayote, tayota, choko, chow-chow, christophene, mirliton, alligator pear and vegetable pear. Reference, Wikipedia

It can be eaten raw as well as cooked. When cooked, it is best prepared like a summer squash. When raw, it works well in salads or salsas. Try using it diced very small in an escabeche of seafood to add a nice crunch

Chef Michel Richard, know as "Captain Crunch", served a katafi crusted shrimp on a slaw made from chayote.

Chefs M.S. Milliken & S. Feniger scoop the flesh out and stuff the squash with mushrooms, chayote, tomatoes, herbs and garlic and bake it with a parmesan topping.

Here are a few more ideas to try.

Saute onions and garlic , add sliced squash, season and cook a few minutes add a little cream and reduce until it coast the chayote.

Peel the chayote and make a julienne. Mix with aioli. Top with grilled chicken breast marinated in chilies and cilantro.

Mixed diced chayote with grilled corn off the cob, cooked penquito beans and diced tomatoes tossed with a garlic and herb vinaigrette. Serve with corn tortillas and maybe a few grilled shrimp.

Here is a version of ratatouille from cooks.com.

SONORAN RATATOUILLE

Printed from COOKS.COM

---

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. red onion, fine dice
1 tsp. garlic, minced fine
1 tbsp. red bell pepper, fine dice
1 tbsp. yellow bell pepper, fine dice
1 tbsp. green bell pepper, fine dice
3 tbsp. chayote squash, peeled, fine dice
1/4 c. zucchini, fine dice
1/4 c. eggplant, fine dice
1/4 c. yellow squash, fine dice
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. jicama, peeled, fine dice
3 tbsp. corn, cut off cob, then blanched
3 tbsp. black beans, rinse in cold water (recipe to follow)
2 tbsp. chicken stock
1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add onions and cook for a minute. Add the three types of bell peppers and the garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Add all of the squashes and the eggplant. Cook for a few minutes stirring frequently. Push aside the ingredients added so far to expose a small area of the saute pan; add the tomato paste around in the small exposed space. Add the jicama, corn and black beans and mix all ingredients together until well heated. Add the chicken stock and cilantro. Cook until all vegetables are cooked well but still slightly crisp. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tastefully yours,

Chef Michael Hutchings

Market Foray

Inviting Display

It hardly seems like fall at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market. There are plenty of berries, asparagus, fresh peas, vine ripe tomatoes, every kind of herb and figs. There were bundles of Italian basil that had leaves as big as a fist. It gave me and idea to stuff it with warm barata cheese and set it on roasted tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and lemon.

Hints of fall include apples, squashes, dried peppers and legumes. I am always on the hunt for the new and unusual and sometime that arrives as a hybrid or heirloom variety of something familiar.

Tom Shephard is a familiar sight at the market. I first bought his now famous Shephard's Green from him when he farmed the Hammond Meadows in Santa Barbara. Tom was selling a variety of dried legumes including the penquito beans and the haricot rouge. I am going to prepare the haricot rouge like a chili with cippolini onions and jalapeños as a foil for a baked trout.

Dried French Red Beans "Haricot Rouge"

From Wikipedia:

"Shalawa Meadow (now most often called Hammond's Meadow) is a 3 acre seaside meadow used in ancient times as a burial site by the Chumash people, adjoining a once large Chumash community about 5 miles east of Santa Barbara, California in the Coast Village portion of the community of Montecito."

The Chinese long beans look like regular green beans that were stretched on "the rack". At a restaurant call Pacifica in the Desert in Palm Desert, CA that I helped open, we served the long beans deep fried and tossed with a fermented black bean sauce.

Chinese Long Beans

Heirloom Vine Ripe Tomatoes

Yellow Cherry Tomatoes

Crackling Hot Jalapeños

 

Oeufs Froid Careme

Photo Anthony Blake

The Roux brothers of London, England are culinary legends. Their sister restaurants, Le Gavroche and the Waterside Inn, are now on their second generation. In the late 1970s I worked for Chef Albert Roux at Le Gavroche. The cuisine at the time was rooted in the classics. In fact, some dishes dated back to the 1800s and were derived from such masters at Escoffier, Dubois, Careme, Nignon and Villart. One of the joys was that Albert Roux collected original editions of books from these masters and they were available as reference works for any ambitious cook. Many of the recipes in these culinary "bibles" are unreserved luxury from the tables of old money and royalty.

The egg dish pictured above was long a standard at Le Gavroche. It is a fresh artichoke bottom filled with a smoked salmon and truffle mixture bound with home made mayonnaise flavored with ketchup and cognac, topped with cold poached egg and adorned with an aspic glazed disk of smoked salmon with a button of sliced truffle. Hungry?

Chef Michael

Slaves at a Roman Feast

 

Schott's Food and Drink Miscellany is a jewel of a book full of useful as well as useless culinary tidbits. Do you want to know how to cook a swan. the ins and outs of a Japanese Tea Ceremony, the menu from JFK's 45 birthday party and how Hemingway liked his martinis mixed?

Do you want to know about all the egg sizes, what Captain Nemo kept in his larder, tea grading nomenclature, a list of notable 19th century chefs or what does Puma, Iguana, Crocodile, Water Hare and Sea Slug really taste like?

One list I found interesting was the Latin name for the various slaves that took care of guests at a Roman feast. This list was from Alexis Soyer's 1853 Pantropheon where he gives the taxonomy of the slaves. Each slave, who was branded with his master's mark, had a specific role to play. I have put the modern equivalent in parenthesis lest you think there has been progress.

• dispensator (manager) - organized the other slaves and allocated work
• ostiarius (bouncer-security) - porter who oversaw all who entered and exited
• atriensis (houseman) - supervised the atrium; gaurded arms, trophies and such
• obsonator (purchasing agent) - purchased meat, fruit,and delicacies from the various markets
• vocatores (postman and host) - delivered invitations, received and placed guests
• cubicularii (houseman) - arragned tables and couches
• dapiferi (busboy) - brought the dishies into the dining area
• nomenculatores (solicitous waiter) - informed the guests of the qualites of each dish
• structor (assistant waiter) - arranged the dishes symmetrically
• praegustator (chef) - chief taster who sampled every dish
• triclinarche (captain) - chief steward who oversay the progress of a meal
• procillatores (personal assistant) - young slaves who attended to each guests needs
• sandaligeruli (footman) - removed and replaced the guests' sandals
• adversitores (escort) - conducted the guests home by torchlight

There were additional slaves that cooled with feather fans, swept the floor, kept the fires going and cleared the tables. So, what has changed in 2000 years? The pay is a little better and there is no more branding. Otherwise, nothing much has changed.

Chefulus Hutchingliangulus

What Would Escoffier Do?

 

Tons of Onions at The Berryman Produce

What would a master chef do with a ton of onions? My kitchen is inside a large produce warehouse operated by The Berryman Produce company. There are literally tons of vegetables that pass through at any given times. Have you ever seen 3,000 pounds of onions stacked in a pile? I can't help but wonder how they are being prepared by all the chefs that get them.

Onions irritate the eyes as we all know. Here is the explanation from Wikipedia:

"As onions are sliced or eaten, cells are broken, allowing enzymes called alliinases to break down amino acidsulphoxides and generate sulphenic acids. Sulphenic acids are unstable and spontaneously rearrange into a volatile gas called syn-propanethial-S-oxide. The gas diffuses through the air and eventually reaches the eye, where it binds to sensory neurons, creating a stinging sensation. Tear glands produce tears to dilute and flush out the irritant."

The only solution is to keep the fumes away by wearing goggles or a strong fan. Forget the bread or celery in the mouth. Onions are one of the oldest cultivated vegetables are were thought to be a part of the diet of craftsmen that built the ancient wonders of Egypt. Unlike ancient Egypt we have onions in fresh, frozen, canned, caramelized, pickled, powdered, chopped, and dehydrated forms.

Here is a brainstorm of ideas that would be the envy of a Pharaoh.

Onion Soup Gratiné with White Truffles

Caramelized Onion with Grain Mustard on Homemade Lobster Sausage Rolls

Roasted and Stuffed with Sweetbreads and Topped with Parmesan Persillade,  Madeira Jus

Caramelized and Reduced with Red Wine as a Foil for Veal Liver

Simmered in Cream for a Gruyere Cheese Soufflé with Chive Blossoms

Caramelized Onion Pizza Topped with Smoked Squab and Roasted Chanterelles

Baked Onions Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Eggplant and Roasted Peppers

Desiccated and Powdered Coating on Sea Scallops Set on Beurre Rouge

Caramelized Onion Creme Anglasie with a Chili Pepper Chocolate Mouse Cake

Bacon Flavored Ice Cream with a Vanilla and Caramelized Onion Waffle

Coffee from the Left Coast

 

Coffee from Calimoya Exotic Fruits

Would you believe that coffee is being grown near Santa Barbara, California? Calimoya Exotic Fruits is selling limited quantities at the local Santa Barbara Farmers Market. Jay Ruskey is growing coffee beans as well as other exotic fruits like charimoya, dragon fruit, passion fruits and of course avocados.

The beans are smaller and more shriveled than your typical South American bean and does not have the glossy oils you might expect. It is a low acid coffee with a kind of nutty aroma. It is organic as well. Look for it at the Farmers Market.

Chef Michael

Truffles Anyone?

 

Oregon White Truffles courtesy of The Berryman Produce

Oregon white truffles really share a name only with the famous and very expensive Italian white truffle. The flavor and aroma of the Oregon truffle is more like butter with hints of roasted hazelnuts dried morels and a little garlic, all not as intense at its Italian counterpart. They can have a kind of strong musky aroma that puts some people off. The flavor description sounds like one of those oddball wine descriptions. 

While the cost is much less than the Italian Alba truffle, they can still run over $300 retail. They can be used in all the ways that truffles are used such as in risottos, infused in a sauce, shaved over salads and the like.

There are efforts underway in Oregon to commercials the cultivation and sale of truffles. I have always wished that truffle, especially the Perigourd variety, were as cheap as potatoes! I have heard stories about how the Rothchild family enjoyed them as a side dish braised in champagne. Here are a couple of links that have some great information.

http://www.natruffling.org/faq.htm

http://www.oregontruffles.org/truffles_feasibility_final.pdf

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Jujubes of the Fruit Kind

 

Jujubes at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market

A trip to the local Farmers market in Santa Barbara occasionally turns up a culinary oddity. Today I spotted a dried fruit labeled Jujube. I remember that name associated with a candy but it is has no relationship with the dried fruit I found.

The Jujube at the market is a fruit called Ziziphus Jujuba or more commonly Jujube, Red Date or Chinese Date.

I has a taste somewhat like and apple-pear combination and a texture like a slightly pithy apple. There is one large seed in the middle like a date or olive.

It is thought to originate in southern Asia between Lebanon and northern India to the Korean peninsula and souther-central China. They grow on small deciduous trees that reach up to 30 feet tall. The fruit is about 2 inches and is smooth-green when young and dark red to purplish-black when dried.

Its use in the kitchen includes preparation of tea. The Chinese make a sort of wine by fermenting the fruit and also preserve it in distilled spirits much like the French do with cherries. In Persian cooking the dried fruit is pounded with tamarind, red chilies, salt and jaggery (an unrefined sugar made from cane juice). Small dishes are made from this dough and are then dried in the sun like fruit leather.

Chef Michael Hutchings

Cornucopia Santa Barbara Style

Our local Farmers Market is one of the best in the country. The proximity of farms that grow products year round bring an ever changing abundance and variety of seasonal fruits and vegetable. We are in "fall mode" now so there are lots of squashes, peppers, apples. Yet, there are still tomatoes, berries of all sorts, baby lettuces, asparagus, artichokes. This is truly a chef's paradise. There were even local ridgeback shrimp at the market that I am going to use as a snack at a cooking class my wife and I are doing at the Roblar Winery.

Chef Michael

"Bagel" Peaches

 

Galaxy Peaches

Here is a post I had in draft this summer but 'lost it" in the blog draft mode. These Galaxy peaches were at the Farmers Market this past summer. The are a delicious, gourmet peach and they can weigh up to 1/3 pound. It's known as a “flat,” “saucer,” or “dough-nut-type” peach because of its round, squat appearance. Fresh-fruit lover's may know this kind of peach as a “peento,” derived from the original Chinese “Pan Tao.”  While the Galaxy peach may seem to be a  “new and trendy” variety of fruit, the Donut peach may in fact be the oldest variety of peach known to exist. It is believed that the Donut peach, originally found in China, thousands of years ago, is actually the “mother” to all peaches and nectarines grown today. Around 1000 BC this may have been your only choice at the market!

Galaxy – The “Bagel” Peach!

Galaxy has light-cream skin accented with an attractive red blush and features the traditional, delicate aroma of white-fleshed peaches. Inside, the flesh has a sweet taste and the pleasantly firm texture that growers describe as "melting." The Donut peach has many varieties and a few aliases. I’ve seen them called “Flat peaches,” “Saucer peaches,” and “Galaxy Peaches” to name a few. You cant miss them as they simply look like flattened peaches.

Here is a great recipe using the galaxy peach.

Tastefully yours,

Chef Michael Hutchings

Feeling Craby?

 

Soft-shelled crabs have always been a treat to prepare and serve. For the uninitiated, soft-shelled crabs are crabs that have molted and for a few hours have tender outer shells that are edible when cooked. The molting is a process of shedding an existing hard outer shell as a part of the growth processes. The soft-shelled crabs always have been seasonal, spring and early summer, and somewhat pricey due to the special handling they need.

Scientists at the University of Alabama may be close to a break threw on a method to induce the molting of the blue crab. Dough Watson is leading the team that has discovered the hormone receptor that inhibits molting and will soon test compounds designed to block the receptor and induce molting. He has a theory that wild blue crabs can be collected at any time and be induced to spawn.

The crabbing industry has seen annual decreases in the harvest due to habitat loss, pollution and the long term exploitation of the resource. The monterey Bay Aquarium has advised that a sustainable farming operation would need to follow strict guidelines on how this new technology might affect the wild population of crabs.

If the scientists are successful and meet the challenges of creating and environmentally safe farming method, the culinary world can have another sustainable food delicacy to enjoy year round. 

The classic way to prepare the crabs is to trim off the eyes and mouth parts, cut out the gills and pull off the small triangular plate on the underside. After seasoning and dredging in flour,they are sautéed in butter and finished with lemon juice and chopped parsley. A good homemade tartar sauce or aioli make a good side.

Hotel Primes anyone?

Chef Michael Hutchings

Updated Dinner Party Menu

It seems that there are more recipes than stars in the sky. I never tire of pouring through my 1500 plus cookbook library. I find my inspiration from those volumes as well as the font of experience. Here is my latest dinner menu inspired by Northern Lights.

Traditional and Modern Cuisine Inspired by Northern Lights

Poultry

Breast of Chicken Italian- Porcini Mushroom and caramelized garlic filled breast, thin green beans on soft polenta, lemon jus.

Chicken Supreme Roma - Caramelized onion and radicchio stuffed chicken breast in a with a warm basil-tomato relish with pine nuts.

Open Chicken Ravioli - Tender-Braised Chicken in a white truffle bechamel with green and white asparagus points.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts - Goat cheese with caramelized onions and rosemary stuffed chicken breasts. Sweet potato soufflé and a rosemary jus.

Free Range Chicken Bambazoni - Spinach, and fennel stuffing, Golden Saffron Risotto and light jus

Hunter's Chicken - Chicken Breasts braised in red wine with tomatoes and herbs, shredded potato cakes with artichokes

Chicken Picatta - Chicken Breast with a capers, lemon and flat leaf parsley served with roasted farmers market vegetables.

Chicken Grana Padano - Breaded chicken cutlets, served on a basil-tomato coulis, with barata cheese and basil.

Chicken Alba - Oven roasted chicken with an artichoke and white truffle ragout, duchess potatoes with parmesan.

Breast of Turkey Rossini - Turkey Breast layered with foie gras and parma ham, Madeira jus. Served with corn flans and tiny green beans.

Bombay Curry Chicken - Fifteen spice curry with condiments: currants, coconut, mango chutney, cashews, with coconut jasmine rice and papadums.

Goat's Cheese Chicken - Chicken Breast with Goat's Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Roasted Garlic, White Wine Sauce, Parmesan Herb Mashed Potatoes

Niçoise Chicken - Chicken breast in a light jus with Niçoise olives, roasted garlic and herbs de Provence served with socca- chick pea pancakes.

Chicken Pot Pie Mod erne - Puff pastry vol-au-vent filled with tender braised chicken in an ivory sauce with sweetbreads, morel mushrooms, petit carrots.

Turkey-Turkey - Medallions of Turkey filled with turkey mousse and tiny diced vegetables, Port wine and cranberry jus with hand gathered wild rice and toasted pecans.

Julia Child's Coq Au Vin - Slow braised chicken with maple smoked bacon, pearl onions and button mushrooms, steamed fingerling potatoes.

Chicken and Mushroom Roulade - Tender chicken in a parmesan bechamel wrapped on a leek and mushroom soufflé, red pepper coulis and served with rosemary potatoes.

Beef, Lamb and Pork

Chorizo Penne - Chorizo, Sundried Tomatoes, Red Onions, Mushrooms, Roasted Garlic and Basil tossed with Penne in a Hearty Tomato Sauce served with Roasted Garlic Parmesan Bread

Rack of Lamb with Eggplant ragout - Baked eggplant, tomatoes and peppers with rack of lamb and a light jus.

Bubble and Squeak My Way - Roasted beef tenderloin set on Irish mashed potatoes, served with claret wine sauce and braised carrots.

Pork Tenderloin "Tournedos" - Sautéed Pork Tenderloin served with turned apples and a calvados jus, set on horseradish mashed potatoes.

Pork Loin Roast "Banc ok" - Roasted pork loin with a red curry sauce, braised bok choy and steamed potatoes.

Green Curry of Beef - NY Steak with a green coconut-curry sauce served with steamed rice and spinach.

Guinness Beef Pie -Beef braised in Irish beer with onions and carrots under a golden pastry dome.

Sukiyaki Beef - Beef tenderloin in a soy-seaweed broth with scallions, bamboo sprouts and soy beans.

Chef Sly's Filet Mignon Chili- Spicy chili sauce with sauteed beef tenderloin, served with sharp cheddar cheese and diced red onions.

Filet Mignon - Beef Tenderloin with Demi Glace garnished with morel mushrooms, cognac macerated grapes and foie gras on Anna potatoes glazed with port wine.

Jerked Pork - Pork tenderloin with Jamaican spice rub, banana-ginger-green peppercorn salsa and sweet potato fritters.

Baked Lamb with Orzo-slow braised lamb with tomatoes, garlic and wine, served on orzo with kefalotiri cheese

Rudy's Beef Roulade -Tenderloin of beef stuffed with cornichon and Westphalia ham, served on German noodles with house made dumplings.

Jumbo Mexican Shrimp with Chorizo - Shrimp stuffed with house made chorizo, wrapped in baked and baked. Served on green Mexican rice with a confetti of peppers and Nopales cactus.

Braised Pork "Osso Bucco" - Pork shanks braised in a cider jus served on a succotash ragout - corn, lima beans and pearl onions.

Filet of Beef Forestiere - Beef tenderloin medallions served on porcini mushrooms with potatoes fondant and artichoke hearts filled with peas braised with lettuce and cream.

Seafood

Fillet of Dover Sole Maison - Imported Dover sole fillets stuffed with lobster mousse, lobster sauce, served with a mushroom and asparagus charlotte, lobster sauce.

Salmon with BBQ Spice "Pacifica" - Salmon with a spicy crust served on horseradish mashed potatoes and fresh spinach.

Open Seafood Ravioli - Market catch of seafood layered with vegetable julienne in a lemon broth.

Fricassee of Shrimp and Scallops - Fresh shrimp and day boat scallops served on an Asian stir fry and light soy-sake jus, served on black forbidden rice.

Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo - Shrimp, bay scallops and line caught salmon on egg noodles with a parmesan-white truffle oil cream sauce.

Sesame Crusted Salmon - Salmon escallops crusted with black and white sesame seeds served over fireworks rice with a ginger butter.

Southern Crab Cakes - Jumbo lump crab meat with Old Bay seasoning, lemon butter emulsion, served on wilted arugula and shiitake mushrooms.

Green Curry Seafood - Lobster, scallops and monk fish with house made green coconut curry, stir fried vegetables and jasmine rice.

Local White Seabass -Poached seabass with a ginger cream sauce served with baby bok choy, garlic chives and roasted elephant garlic.

Steamed Clams SB Harbor - Littleneck clams steamed with fresh thyme, garlic, shallots and chardonnay wine, served on angel hair pasta.

Local Farmed Halibut - Stuffed with local ridgeback shrimp and leeks, served with and cream sauce infused with Oregon Wasabi and served with crispy fried pineapple rice cakes.

Local Petrale Sole "Farci" - Sole stiffed with a caper, herb and mushroom stuffing ans served with a lemon-herb emulsion sauce. Accompanied with braised baby fennel and polenta fries.

Salmon Cakes Deluxe - Wild Alaskan salmon layered with lobster and served with lobster bisque sauce. Served in season with fiddlehead ferns or green and white asparagus. Beurre rouge butter sauce with micro radish sprouts.

Deviled Crab Stuffed Eggplant - Grilled Japanese Eggplant with mustard-spiked dungeness crab stuffing, served on carrot "risotto" and lemon emulsion with herbs.

Seafood Symphony - Steamed shrimp,salmon and sole in a vermouth sauce with spinach flan and saffron potatoes .

Baked Salmon Roma - Pine nut crusted salmon baked on rosemary sprigs served with a red wine sauce and served with parmesan potatoes and roasted baby carrots.

Vegetarian

Barata Cheese on Warm Camponata - Eggplant ragout topped with barata cheese, the other mozzarella. Served with a salad of fennel and raw artichoke with lemon and truffle oil.

Bell Pepper Wellington -Roasted red and yellow bell peppers layered with spinach and grits in puff pastry with gruyere cheese.

Eggplant Caponata with Olive Sauce - Eggplant, peppers, tomatoes served with a green olive sauce and parmesan crisps.

Potatoes Biarritz Vegetarian Style - Jumbo Idaho potato stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes and layered with spinach, goat cheese, fennel, topped with parmesan cheese.

Mushroom Roulade with Carrots - Mushroom and leek roulade stuffed with borlotti beans, carrots, roasted garlic and served with a parmesan cream.

Gruyere and Onion Soufflé - Twice baked soufflé served on a soubise sauce with porcini mushrooms.

Asparagus and Humbolt Fog Tart - Humbolt Fog goat cheese, asparagus and ramps bake on a thin pizza crust served with arugula salad tossed with lemon dressing and truffle salt.

Tempura Vegetables - Asian style, market vegetable tempura with seasonal vegetable and traditional dipping sauce.

Butternut Squash ragout - Vegan style with a firm tofu, kombu broth, scallions and shiitake mushrooms.

Pirogi - Russian pastry delicacy filled with mushrooms, eggs, fresh dill and sour cream.

Soups

We have hundreds of soup variations. Here are a few samples.
Asparagus Soup with Truffle Oil
Bisque of Wild Mushrooms with Cognac and Cream
Corn Chowder Vegetarian
Crab and Sausage Gumbo
Cream of Coconut and Mushroom Soup
Curried Mussel Chowder
Fresh Pea Soup "Our Way"
Lentil Soup with Sherry Vinegar and A Confetti of Vegetables
Mulligatawny Soup
Tunisian Vegetable-and-Bean Soup
Wild Rice Chowder

Danish Canapes

The Danes make marvelous open faced sandwiches that lend themselves to bit sized canapes. There is a heavy accent on seafood since the Danes live by the sea. Here is my latest menu for receptions of a Danish sort.

Chef Michael

Danish Canapes

 

Smoked Salmon, Asparagus Tips and Hard Boiled Eggs on Toast

Scrambled Eggs, Smoked Eel and Chives on Dark Bread

Smoked Ham on Fried Quail Eggs on Toast

Boiled Potatoes with Chive Cream

Marinated Herring and Apples on Toast

Spare Ribs with Pickled Cucumber and Red Cabbage on Cocktail Spoons

Liver pate on Rye with Pickled Gherkins

Danish Beef Tartar with capers, onions, red beet and horseradish

Bay SHrimp with Mayonnaise, Hard Boiled Eggs and Dill on Toast