Coastal Cooking with Chef Michael Hutchings

Dinner as a Seige Machine

I recently was part of a dinner at Hearst Castle as part of the Central Coast Wine Classic. Producing the dinner is akin to planning a siege.  To serve 210 guests, it requires a complicated choreography of people and materials. There are over 100 chefs and assistants, waiters, sommeliers, volunteers, dishwashers, grips, entertainers, and equipment managers. The seven course dinner requires an arsenal of 1470 plates, 2100 pieces of cutlery, 2310 wine glasses plus linen, lighting, tables, chairs, portable refrigeration, and a field kitchen to serve both the guest and the crew. To top things off, there is nothing set up before the day of the event and everything is removed by the end of the night. Security is tight as the grounds are considered a museum, down to the shrubs. The real challenge is to create a catering venue from scratch in 5 hours, assemble people and materials and bring that to a delicious conclusion.

The chef team:

Dinner at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, featuring chefs Michel Richard, Cal Stamenov, Frank Ostini, Ian McPhee, Wilhelm Hoppe & Michael Hutchings, coordinated by Chef James Sly's Team, with matching wines from Vintner Dignitaries, including Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal — $1250.00 Per Person

Tastefully yours®

Chef Michael Hutchings

Menu
Hors D’oeuvres
Chef Michael Hutchings
 
Truffled Gruyere Cheese Gougére
Venison Loin Lollipops, Game Sauce
Smoked Salmon Bundles on Brioche with It’s Caviar
Foie Gras Club Sandwich on Brioche
Tuna Tartar Niçoise
Dried Apricots with Spanish Almonds and Bacon
 
2002 Champagne Louise Roederer Cristal
 
Soup Course
Chef Michel Richard
Chilled Tomato Soup with tomato Tartar
 
2004 Au Bon Climat Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley
Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc
 
Fish Course
Chef Wilhelm Hoppe
 
Seared Ocean Rose Abalone Medallions
With Caramelized Mango and Roasted Hazelnuts
Sea Vegetable Salad in Mat-cha (green tea) Vinaigrette
 
2006 Baileyanna Grand Firepeack Estate Edna Valley Chardonnay
2006 Tolosa Winery Estate Edna Valley Chardonnay
 
Fowl Course
Chef Franck Ostini
 
Smoked Duck Breast
 
2003 Hitching Post Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Santa Inez Valley Pinot Noir
2003 Au Bon Climat Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Pinot Noir
 
Meat Course
Chef Ian McPhee
 
Oak Grilled Prime Filet of Beef
With Salsa Verde, Marinated Cannellini Beans
Heirloom Tomato-Basil Relish & Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
 
2005 Ederle Winery Estate Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Saucelito Canyon Estate Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon
 
Cheese Course
Chef James Sly
Special Cheese Appropriate to Syrah
 
2006 Margerum Uber Santa Barbara County Syrah
2001 Qupé Wine Cellars Bien Nacido Vineyard Hillside Estate Syrah
 
Dessert Course
Chef Cal Stamenov
 
Cherry-Pistachio Mousse
Caramel, Slow Baked Meringue, Cherry Purée, Graham Cracker Crumble


Chopping summer truffle for the gougére


View from the kitchen tent


Slicing ahi for Niçoise salad on a spoon


Dining area on north terrace


Champagne at the Neptune Pool
Photo Bob Dickey


Table to tower
Photo Bob Dickey

Vine Ripe

Three Tomato rating-Worthy of a Salad

Chef James Sly, of Sly's in Carpinteria, gets incredible tomatoes from Beylik Farm.  These gems were too large for the farmers market shoppers so the farmer gave James 100 pounds. I in turn was given 50 pounds. The tomatoes are now drying in my oven to save them for some great pasta dishes.

Scott Beylik grows these lush tomatoes using the hydroponic method. Hydroponics is the science of growing plants without soil. The plants thrive on the nutrient solution alone. The medium (rockwool) merely acts as support for the plants and their root systems, and perhaps to hold moisture around the roots. The growing medium, if any, is totally inert.

Scott has told me that the flavor of the tomato can vary with the distance from the roots. These vines grow up to 12 feet high and the upper tomatoes can have less flavor because of the distance the nutrients have to travel. Even so, the tomatoes are superior because they get everything they need to be a tomato.

From the Beylik web page:
"A little history about the Beylik Family. For almost 35 years, the Beylik Family has been dedicated to producing the very best produce possible from our farm near Fillmore in Ventura County. Sometimes the phrase "family business" is included because it sounds nice. More than mere words here, four generations of Beylik's work and care for our crops everyday. Our produce is available exclusively through Certified Farmer's Markets from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. We are all very proud of the quality of our offerings and hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed growing them for you."

You will find these tomatoes at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market and of course at Sly's.

Tastefully yours®


Chef Michael Hutchings

Basic Abalone

Here is an easy recipe for abalone. If you do not have access to abalone, use large sea scallops or calamari. Enjoy

Chef Michael Hutchings

Typepad

Michael Hutchings Michael's Catering (805) 451-6738

Merci Julia

The Julie & Julia movie is coming out in a couple of weeks. I have a number of Julia Child mementos in my collection of things. Aside from the copies of Mastering The Art of French Cooking signed by Julia and Paul Child, I have a few tools from her kitchen, a signed photograph and a pot holder, well used, from an even that Julia was the honored guest. They movie trailer looks like great fun and will remind us all of this great American culinary icon.

As the great lady use to say,

"Bon Appètit"

Chef Michael Hutchings

Pot Holder From Julia Child


Letter from Julia after Merci Julia Event

Mongolian BBQ

I went to a funky restaurant in Fountain Valley CA. It has a rather odd griddle. It is round and seems to have variations in the heat. I was told that heat can be as high as 572 degrees F. The cooks used a sort of wooden stick-spatula and danced the food around the stove while walking clockwise. They basically cooked what you brought them from a raw food bar. The cooking style is not really Mongolian and is very loosely related to any BBQ you might imagine. The style of cooking originally came from Taiwan and is really more Japanese-style teppanyaki. It is more Benihana that Mongolian. The myth is that soldiers of Genghis Khan sliced meats up with their swords and cooked them over upturned shields. The griddle resembles an upturned wok as much as anything. It is great for fast, efficient cooking and is easy to clean after each dish is cooked.

The chef here was very clever. The meats, turkey, beef, lamb, pork, is sliced very thin while frozen. The meats are placed on chilling plates at the buffet to keep them frozen. This keeps the meat bulky so as you go through the buffet line collection your raw ingredients you take less of the more expensive meats. This is great for the food cost.

The end result was a very average stir fry, due in part to the very average ingredients from the buffet. It did not have the flourish of the Samurai Chef. Vegetables were carrots, cabbage, green bell peppers, scallions, pineapple (canned),  bean sprouts and cilantro. There were pots of "sauces" with indefinable flavors, mostly salt and spicy heat. All this is heaped in a bowl and tossed onto the griddle.

From Wikipedia:
"The nomads of Mongolia sustain their lives directly from the products of domesticated animals such as cattle, horses, camels, yaks, sheep, and goats, and sometimes game.[1] Meat is either cooked, used as an ingredient for soups or dumplings (buuz/khuushuur/bansh), or dried for winter (borts).[1] The Mongolian diet includes a large proportion of animal fat which is necessary for the Mongols to withstand the cold winters and their hard work. Winter temperatures as low as -40 °C and outdoor work require sufficient energy reserves. Milk and cream are used to make a variety of beverages, as well as cheese and similar products.[2]
The nomads on the countryside are self-supporting by principle. Travelers will find yurts marked as "guanz" in regular intervals near the roadside, which operate as simple restaurants. In the yurt, which is a portable dwelling structure, Mongolians usually cook in a cast-iron or aluminum pot on a small stove, using wood or dried animal dung (argal) as fuel." 

More typical dishes from Mongolia would be:

Cooked mutton, steamed dumplings filled with meat, dumplings boiled or deep fried in mutton, dishes combine the meat with rice or fresh noodles into various stews or noodle soups, foods cooked on heated stones including mutton or goat, dried curds, yoghurt, kefir, fermented mare's milk, fried or malted barley, milk tea.

This could be a delicious style of cooking if it brought great ingredients and sauces into play. But...the point seems to be cheap-fast food and making as much bottom line as possible. Oh well, it was Fountain Valley.

Tastefully yours®

Chef Michael Hutchings

Gorgeous Cake

My wife, Christine, is an amazing cake decorator. SHe has a company called Christine Dahl Pastries. The designs that she creates seem to flow out of her fingertips as if by magic. Christine uses no templates other than a steady hand and a keen eye. This is a sample of the simple, classic lines that characterize her style of wedding cakes. Incidentally, they taste fantastic!

Chef Michael Hutchings

Wedding Cake by Christine Dahl

Unmasked

This is the original costume from Star Wars. It now resides in a private museum in Santa Barbara.

I know it is not a food related item but I thought it was fun to see this icon up front and personal.

Biltmore sliders

The Biltmore hotel bar offers a tasty array of appetizers. These Kobe Beef Sliders went well with Qupé syrah. Other offerings include:

Lobster Salad Rolls, Shrimp Tempura Lime-Cilantro Dip

Seafood Sampler for Two-tuna sashimi, lobster salad rolls, tempura shrimp

BBQ Chicken Scallion Quesadillas

The Biltmore is also offering a seafood buffet Local's Night on Thursdays.

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Lobster boil

Julie & Julia

“Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and Julie Powell (Amy Adams) are featured in writer-director Nora Ephron's adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell's Julie & Julia and My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends...until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.” Written by Columbia Pictures 

We have planned dinner and a movie for the film Julie & Julia that is premiering the first week of August. The trailer for this movie looks terrific and  Ms. Streep has mastered the art of being Julia Child. Please join us for a pre-theater dinner at Café Shell, formerly Barcliff and Bair. The menu is from Julia’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and will be prepared by chef Michael Hutchings. Bring your Julia memorabilia and reminiscences to share. 

Menu of Julia’s Favorites 

Amuse-Gueule au Roquefort - Roquefort Balls 

Croutes aux Champignons - Mushroom Croutons 

Croutes au  Jambon - Ham Croutons 

Filets de Poisson  à la Bretonne 

fish fillet in a white wine and cream sauce 

Bifteck Sauté Marchand de Vins 

filet steak with red wine sauce 

vegetable garnishes 

La Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin 

upside-down apple tart 

Pain Français 

Where: Café Shell, 1112 State Street, La Arcada Shopping Plaza. Park in lot next to main library. 

When: Sunday, August 9. 

Cost: $65 members, $75 guests. Price includes theater tickets. 

Time: Time will be announced after the theater posts the showtimes. Dinner will start at about 5:00-5:30 depending on the show time. 

Beverages: Wine IS NOT included. Feel free to bring you own selection or purchase from the café. Corkage is $8 per bottle. 

Theater location: Will be announced. 

Your check is your reservation. Please mail to: 

Terrie Bugay 

2504 Calle Montilla 

Santa Barbara, CA 93109 

Great Appetizer

We had a dinner at Emilio's, in Santa Barbara,  a few nights ago. They always do a good job. This appetizer was particularly delicious. It is a thin crust pizza topped with sour cream, onions, capers, chives and smoked salmon. The salmon was a good quality and the crust outstanding. Pete Clements is the chef at Emilio's. He was an apprentice at my restaurant, Michael's Waterside, back in the mid 1980s. This is a must have appetizer that you can order at the bar.

Tastefully yours®

Chef Michael Hutchings

Small-Elegant Wedding

We recently catered a small wedding for fourteen guests at a private estate in the Hope Ranch area in Santa Barbara. The ceremony was on the beach at sunset with a reception and dinner on the lawn and terrace.
 Chef Michael Hutchings

Chef's canapés
Canneline bean bruschetta with fresh roasted asparagus
Baby Abalone with Lemon Butter on Half Shell
Fried Artichokes with Garlic-Saffron Mayonnaise

Terrine of Avocado with Petite Greens
fresh vine tomato and basil dressing

*Vegetarian "French Onion Soup" Gruyere Crouton

*Baked Seabass Persillade
Petit Filet of Beef Pinot Sauce
Medley of Local Organic Vegetables
Fondant Potatoes

*California Cheese with Walnut Bread and Dried Fruits - Plated

Wedding Cake

Coffee Service and Herbal Tea
Soy Cream - Regular Cream


Norbert - Always ready to show guests the proper way to drink champagne


Cultured abalone appetizer


Vegetarian Fried Artichokes with Aioli


White Bean and Truffle Bruscetta

Eggplant - Aubergine - Melanzana

Eggplant is in full season at our local farmers market. The varieties are mind boggling. I found six varieties offered at the Saturday market from the classic white to a Thai eggplant (reported to be very bitter). I will be cooking a dish tomorrow using these gems. I plan to stuff a giant onion I found at the market and serve it on a tomato concasee with basil. I will add to this post after I prepare the eggplant dish.

Tastefully yours®

Chef Michael Hutchings

Top and Bottom-Japanese Eggplant, Middle-Thai Eggplant


White Eggplant


Japanese Eggplant Variation

Round Purple Eggplant

Bitter Thai Eggplant

Variegated Purple Eggplant
 

Petit Fours

My favorite type of pastry to make are petit fours. There are two type; the cake-like with frosting, ganache and the like and and the cookie-like that are usually crisp and or crunchy. I prefer the latter.

Clockwise:Dipped berries, coconut macaroons, meringue, sable swirls, chocolate truffles, earthquake

I first started preparing this little gems at Le Gavroche in London. I remember well the first lesson with Chef Albert Roux making something called a Palais Coco. These are flat coconut macaroons that are equal parts unsweetened coconut, sugar and eggs with a little vanilla. They can be flat or formed into tuiles, tile shaped cookies. Crisp petit fours are endless in variety and are a delight after an elegant dinner.

Tastefully yours®,
Chef Michael Hutchings

Petit Fours

Almond Tuiles
Chocolate Truffle Cups
Cinnamon Fans - Irregular Shaped Puff Pastry Fans
Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Chips
Devil’s Food Cake with Sour Cream Frosting
Earthquake Cookies - Rich Chocolate Cookie
Ginger Crisps
Grapefruit Confit - Candied Grapefruit in Crystal Sugar
Hazelnut Sable - Shortbread Cookie with Toasted hazelnuts
Hazelnut Tuiles
Linzer Cookies - Linzer pastry with Raspberry Jam
Madeleine, Flavors - Plain, Orange, Tea
Marshmallow with Orange Oil
Meringue Crisps
Mini Berry Tarts with Passion Fruit Curd
Orange Confit - Candied Orange Dipped in Chocolate
Otto’s Almond Crescents
Palmiers - Classic Puff Pastry Crisps
Shortbread cookies with dark chocolate swirls
Strawberry Mousse Minis
Tart Tatin Bites - Mini Version of the French Classic

Shell Cake

A picture is worth a thousand words. This one says that and more. Christine Dahl created this classic cake for one of my catering client's wedding. I wish I could post the taste as well. Chiffon cake with white chocolate mousse and raspberries. Fondant icing with buttercream highlights.

Enjoy

Chef Michael Hutchings

Shell Cake by Christine Dahl

Limoncello

Limocello, the Italian Lemon Liquor

Like lemons? Like distilled spirits? You will love limoncello.

Limoncello is like so many flavored liquors that have some aromatic fruit or herb infused into a distilled spirit. In this case, the flavor is lemon.

We are fortunate in Santa Barbara to live in a growing climate that the Western Garden Book describes as subtropical. The areas supports crops as diverse as macadamia nuts, avocados, bananas, passion fruit, kiwi, cherimoya and citrus, especially lemons. I have a dear friend, Silvio de Loreto, who has a lemon orchard in Hope Ranch that is about 100 years old. The trunks are gnarled and look like something from an old Italian landscape. I was at Silvio’s orchard recently and picked a few bags of lemons to try my hand at making limoncello. In Sicily, the Sorrento lemon is preferred for making limoncello because the zest has a high content of lemon oils. Most likely you will find the Eureka lemon in the Southern California area. Choose lemons that are larger, have thick, waxy skins as they have the best oil content. Organically raised lemon are preferred. If you can only find processed lemons, follow the washing instructions in the recipe.*

Picking Lemon at Silvio's

Lemon Peels Photo Michael Hutchings

Not content with just following a recipe, I am trying three methods and one variation to make my version Hope Ranch Limoncello. My thought is to find a way to accelerate the extraction of the lemon oils and pigments. Typically, a recipe calls for the lemons to be peeled with as little white pith as possible. The peels are then steeped in Everclear, a high proof neutral alcohol, for up to a month. Everclear is used because the stronger alcohol content is better for extracting flavors from the lemon zest. Afterward, the infused liquor is filtered and diluted with a sugar syrup to taste. The reasons for making your own limoncello is that is will be better than most store brands and cost less than the imported versions. I also prefer less sugar so the fruit flavor comes through better.

Everclear Photo Michael Hutchings

Everclear comes in 151 proof and 190 proof. Because of its high alcohol content, Everclear is illegal, unavailable, or difficult to find in many areas. In California, only 151 proof is legal to sell. It is particularly suited to cooking and making limoncello because it extracts flavors exceptionally well. You can substitute 100 proof vodka if Everclear is not available.

I am trying two other preparation methods in addition to the traditional way. I have peeled the zest off as usual then placed it in a blender with the Everclear. My thought is that the slow thirty-day method of steeping can be accelerated by releasing the flavors faster. The second nontraditional method I am using is to grate the zest off of the lemon with a microplane. A microplane is a very fine toothed grater that will remove only the colored part of the lemon skin and leave the bitter white pitch behind. The trick is not to try an get every bit of color in order to avoid the white pith.

English Lavender Photo Michael Hutchings

The variation that I am making has a little extract of English lavender added into the mix to give it a woodsy note. English lavender actually hails from the Mediterranean area, mostly the Pyrenees mountains. I extracted the lavender oils by steeping the flower buds in Everclear for 5 days.

Limoncello is traditionally served chilled as an after dinner digestive in small chilled-ceramic glasses. Keep the limoncello in the freezer at about 5 degrees fahrenheit. Do not fill the bottle to the brim as there is a small danger of cracking the bottle if you add too much simple syrup. Limoncello, while common in Italy, has only recently gained popularity in America. It is being used in cocktails to impart a strong lemon flavor without the bitterness and also some desserts. 

The entertainment world helped to popularize he drink in the 2003 film Under the Tuscan Sun and later by Danny DeVito's appearance on the television show The View. Apparently still intoxicated from consuming limoncello the night before with his friend George Clooney, DeVito said, "I knew it was the last seven limoncellos that was going to get me." On 30 April, 2007, DeVito announced the launch of his own line of limoncello.

Try it. All it takes is a little work and the patience to what while the alcohols does the work.

Tastefully yours®

Chef Michael Hutchings