Coastal Cooking with Chef Michael Hutchings

A Little Summer Ditty

It's summer. At least on the calendar. It has been a chilly summer for the most part in Santa Barbara. In any event, we are cooking summery menus using the abundant fresh produce, berries, local seafood and wines that grace the region. The local white sea bass is a particularly good fish. We get it super fresh from the fisherman's market at the local harbor. I prepared it quite simply by searing and roasting the fillets and serving it with a lemon butter emulsion using a good organic butter.

Chef Michael

 

Norbert Furnee "a table"

 

Nibbles

Vegan Summer Rolls

Yellow Gazpacho

Yellow Tomatoes and Bells with macedoine vegetables

Local White Sea Bass "a ma façon"

organic lemon butter emulsion

Steamed Market Vegetables

Quinoa with Pine Nuts and Spinach

Sorbet on a Nest of Exotic Fruits

with an almond cake

Herb Pita Bread off the Grill

 

Summer Rolls

 

Yellow Gazpacho

   

Local Sea Bass

 

Almond Cake with Local Fruits and Sorbet

 

Author's note: No food stylists were used during photo shoots.

 
 
 
 

A Little Summer Ditty

It's summer. At least on the calendar. It has been a chilly summer for the most part in Santa Barbara. In any event, we are cooking summery menus using the abundant fresh produce, berries, local seafood and wines that grace the region. The local white sea bass is a particularly good fish. We get it super fresh from the fisherman's market at the local harbor. I prepared it quite simply by searing and roasting the fillets and serving it with a lemon butter emulsion using a good organic butter.

Nibbles

Vegan Summer Rolls

Yellow Gaspacho

Yellow Tomatoes and Bells with macedoine vegetables

Local White Seabass "a ma façon"

organic lemon butter emulsion

Steamed Market Vegetables

Quinoa with Pine Nuts and Spinach

Sorbet on a Nest of Exotic Fruits

with an almond cake

Herb Pita Bread off the Grill

Unabashedly Classical

On rare occasions, a client may ask for a classical dish that is from the old repertoire of the 1800's. Last night we prepared such a dinner. It is the sort of cooking that drew me in to the profession. The center piece was a ballotine de Volaille. The dish calls for a chicken to be completely boned out from the back and then stuffed with a forcemeat. My version had a chicken forcemeat with foie gras, truffles, pistachios and cognac. The cooking method was sous vide and took almost three hours at a gentle heat of 155 degrees F. The presentation was suitable archaic with a rice "socle" to present the bird. The sauce Albuféra is a rich reduction of chicken stock, mushroom essence and cream.

 

Grand table Setting

Table Details

 

Ballotine Presentation

 
 

Chilled Cauliflower Vichyssoise

crisp leeks and black caviar

Ballotine de Volaille - Sauce Albuféra

Spinach Timbale

Yellow Summer Squash

New Potatoes with Sage

Chanterelles Bordelaise

Bib Lettuce Salad with Warm Goat Cheese

walnut vinaigrette

Baked Hazelnut Meringue

Creme Anglaise

Exotic Fruits

Parker House Rolls

Les Tuiles

Dentelle, Chocolate and Almond

How it is made

 

Whole Chicken as Purchased

 

Truffles for Stuffing

 

Foie Gras for Stuffing
 

 

Chicken Boned Out

 

Stuffed and Ready for Trussing

  

Ready for Cooking

 

Cooking with the Immersion Heater at 155 degree F.
 
   

Chopped Shallots 

 

Michigan Chanterelles

 

Chanterelles!
   
   

Summer Squashes

Sage Potatoes 

   

Ballotine Plate Presentation

Meringue on Exotic Fruits

   

Tuiles - Chocolate, Almond, Lace