Coastal Cooking with Chef Michael Hutchings

Chef Dahl's Apple Tart Tatin

 

Tart Tatin

The French classic Tart Tatin is on of my most favored desserts. The original method I learned from my chef-friend James Sly is an hours-long process. About 18 apples are peeled, halved and cored then slowly cooked with butter and sugar to a caramelized state, topped with puff pastry and baked. After setting a bit, it is inverted onto a platter.

Working at Le Gavroche in London, I learned a Tatin Minute method that was an individual dessert that is comprised of butter and sugar caramelized with apple halves, puff pastry placed on top, then baked to crispness. That process is less than 20 minutes.

Pastry chef Christine Dahl has a different method, The sugar and butter are caramelized, placed in a baking mold such as a tatin pan or individual baking tin, add peeled, halved, cored, sliced apples, topped with puff pastry and baked. The results are terrific individual tatins that are easy to make for large crowds. Golden delicious apples work well with this recipe.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Santa Barbara Wine Festival Notes

Mini Cheese Soufflés

 

300 Eggs, Separated

Question: What has 300 eggs, 30 pounds of Gruyere cheese, 6 gallons of cream, 4 pounds of butter and flour, four gallons of milk and 2000 legs?

Answer: The Santa Barbara Wine Festival with 1000 guests enjoying 1200 tastes of the famed Soufflé Suissesse that hails from Augustus Escoffier via Le Gavroche and Michael's Waterside.

I chose insanity over practicality and served mini souffles to the guests at this venerated food and wine event held annually the the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Even other chefs at the event raised eyebrows when I mention we were serving soufflés, notorious for being temperamental. Admittedly, this was not an easy task and I had my head in a mixer or oven for three hours, but I enjoyed the challenge and the guests enjoyed the soufflé

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Egg-Enriched Bechamel

 

 

On Stage at the Granada, Santa Barbara and with Elvis at the Carrillo Recreation Center

 

Alexander Plating Canapes Back Stage at the Granada 

This past weekend we catered a post performance reception at the Granada Theatre.

The performance was Camelot and I suppose we should of had Ye Olde English Fare but opted for some of my tried and true canapes. Since we were serving on stage from the back area, we were not able to set up until the performance concluded. Within 15 minutes, we had canapes being passed to the 100 plus guests. We served some 800 nibbles to the guests. The big hits were the lamb meatballs and chocolate macaroons.

 

The Granada was our easy event that day. Previously, we served lunch for 270 guests at the Carrillo Recreation Center for New Horizons Travel. I avoided the Elvis junk food cliches like banana-peanut butter sandwiches and prepared a more appealing menu. The menu was geared for a crown and was fairly simple, Roasted Chicken Marinara , Rice Pasta Salad, Tossed Green with Balsamic Dressing and Ratatouille, finishing with fresh fruit and Devil's Food Cupcake. We managed to plate 270 lunches in 12 minutes, 22.5 per minute!

Devil's Food Cupcake, Sour Cream Frosting

Chef Michael with "The King"

 

Related articles

Luncheon for 300 Guests

Camelot In Concert at Granada Theater

Make a Date for Lunch & Support The Granada Theatre!

Note on Passing of Otto Berger

During my stint at the Olive Mill Bistro in Santa Barbara (1981-1984) I worked with a classically trained waiter from Austria, Otto Berger. When the Sommerset restaurant closed in about 1967, he formed a partnership with Gil Rosa and Paul Vercammen to open the Olive Mill Bistro. Otto had a polished, gracious table side manner and was the kind of waiter that would remember your preferred food dishes and which way to point the handle of your coffee cup. Otto also worked with me at my restaurant, Michael's Waterside, during the late 1980s. 

Otto's family owns an ancient inn in Austria called Gasthaus Berger. It has been in the family for generations and he would summer there. Otto passed away earlier this month. I have one of his recipes for an Austrian petit four that I call Otto's Crescents. R.I.P. Otto.

 

 

Otto's Sugar Crescents

 

 

Related articles

Michael's Waterside Revival at Sly's

Santa Barbara Wine Festival

 

Gruyere Cheese Soufflé

We are back! After a few years on the sideline, we are back at the fabulous Santa Barbara Wine Festival at the Museum of Natural History. This year I am preparing small Soufflé Suissesse, the famed Gruyère Cheese Soufflé from Le Gavroche in London. The dish is a pillow-like soufflé that is twice baked, topped with gruyere cheese and served on a pool of reduced cream. I will be preparing over 1000 of these delights to order during the three hours of the festival. We will serve 30 pounds of Gruyère, eight gallons of cream sauce and the output of a small flock of chickens. Drop by with your oaky chardonnay of a pinot noir for a great dish!

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

  

From the Museum's web page:

Escape for an afternoon in the refreshing natural ambiance of Mission Creek at the 2014 Santa Barbara Wine Festival™! Taste tantalizing wines from 50 Central Coast premier wineries complemented with savory and sweet delectable delights from local chefs, caterers, bakers, and restaurateurs. 

Tickets for the 2014 Santa Barbara Wine Festival™ Saturday, June 28, 2014 2:00-5:00 PM

 

This annual summer Wine Festival helps support the Museum's mission to inspire our citizens to explore, embrace, and take care of our natural world; 100% of the Wine Festival proceeds help us achieve these goals through science education and engaging exhibits.

Check out photos from the 2013 Santa Barbara Wine Festival™ on our Pinterest Photo Board! 

This is a must-do summertime favorite and the wine festival you cannot miss. Go to www.sbnature.org/tickets to reserve your tickets

Related articles

5 Top Food and Wine Events for Your Summer

Second Generation Winemaker Analyzes the First

Hearst Castle Dinner Central Coast Wine Classic 2012

Museum-Quality Wine Festival

Wedding Cake Classic

Weding Cake by Chef Christine Dahl

 

Pastry chef Christine Dahl, Christine Dahl Pastries,  makes the most amazing wedding cakes. This classic features a decorative method called stenciling. It involves applying butter cream to a fondant topped cake using a stencil designed for cakes. There is no room for error. If the application of the butter cream smears, it means removing the fondant and starting all over. The colors were matched to the the linens and table decor. The cake flavors  were a vanilla chiffon with white chocolate mousse, lemon curd and raspberries. This wedding season Chef Christine will produce over 150 custom wedding cakes.

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Cake Details

 

Modern Masterpiece

Winter Truffles 2013

I was delayed posting this blog from last December. It is no less delicious to consider, though. This photo was taken at The Berry Man Produce Company. Cory, they specialty buyer, had a shipment of black and white truffles come in for the holidays.

There just happened to be Dom Perignon and foie gras around to suggest a celebratory feast. Wholesale cost for shipment the Perigord and Alba truffles topped $8,000 wholesale! How about a Foie Gras Parfait layered with champagne briased black and white truffles!

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Deluxe Ingredients for the Holidays

 

 

Related articles

French smell trouble from Chinese truffle imports

Dinner in Malibu

 

Lucky's Salad Revisited

 

  Occasionally, I wander out of the seaside paradise of Santa Barbara to cater in some distant local.  On this occasion, I traveled to Malibu to cook a ladies night dinner for eight guests. This is very food knowledgeable hostess and she  wanted a dinner culled from the menu at Lucky's in Santa Barbara. 

I took the Lucky's salad and gave it a Gucci makeover. The salad is a riff on one of Michel Guerard's salad gourmand from the 70's. In this case the components are shrimp, chopped greens, haricot vert, Roquefort cheese and tomatoes. Mostly I made a designer presentation using a collar of cucumber to organize the ingredients. The main course was a simple Fillets of imported Dover sole, muniere style with vegetable sides. Dinner finished with a chocolate brulée stacked Napoleon style with a sauce of cherries jubilée. I used filo triangles to stack disks of chocolate brulée.  In the words of the sage of Carpinteria, "tired old favorites."

 CHef Michael Hutchings

 

Chocolate Brulée Stack

Lobster Sausages

California Spiny Lobster

Fisherman's Market at the Docks

 

 

This past lobster season in Santa Barbara, CA (October-March) I picked up a few local spiny lobster for a cocktail party. The pound price has risen significantly the past few years as the Chinese are willing to pay a premium for the live local lobster. They are indeed terrific. Back in the 1980's I exported them to Chef Albert Roux of Le Gavroche fame. He claimed that they were better than the Mediterranean lobster. It was a risky business shipping live lobster to London. I would go down to the docks and load the lobster directly from the live tanks into shipping containers and then drive them to LAX just hours before the flight time. On the other end there was an agent that helped "massage" the packed through customs. Within 36 hours they were on a plate being enjoyed by the patrons at Le Gavroche.

The lobster sausage is a great way to extend the costly-local shellfish. One chef's tip is to cook the lobster briefly in boiling water. This makes removing the lobster meat much easier. If there are any "berries." lobster rose, be sure and include them in the mousseline as they add flavor and a red color when they are cooked. 

Chef Michael 

Lobster Sausages

 

Related articles

California Spiny Lobster

Dinner at the Sanford Winery with Camarata Pacifica

West Barrel Room at Sanford Winery

Recently we catered a dinner at the Sanford Winery in the West Barrel Room. The dinner was for the musical group Camarata Pacifica and the dinner was preceded by a wine tasting and a concert, all overlooking the winery estate.

The Camarata Pacifica is a musical ensemble dedicated to performing modern and classic chamber music. Camerata Pacifica programs revolve around a core of principal musicians: Adrian Spence, Nicholas Daniel, Jose Franch-Ballester, John Steinmetz, Richard Yongjae O’Neill, Ani Aznavoorian, Ji Hye Jung, and Warren Jones. These artists bring incredible depth, skill and passion to their work, energizing and re-energizing both standard and new repertoire.

The principals are joined for most programs by a stellar roster of guest artists from all over the world. Many of these guests have been with Camerata Pacifica for years, but each season brings new faces as well.

The performers used the "kitchen" area for their green room and the violinist Teresa Sanislav asked if I minded her warming up amongst the wine barrels. Unknow to me at the time, she is one of the stars in the Southern California musical world. I half jokingly requested a Bach Partita. Moments later between barrels of pinot noir the haunting phrases echoed around the cavernous room.

At a recent performance of the Santa Barbara Symphony, Teresa was action concert mistress. Great talent!

 

 The dinner went off flawlessly. Like music, timing was critical as the first course was a risotto and like soufflés, it does not like to linger. We had a choice of main course. The  Salmon Soufflé “Auberge de l’Isle” hales from the Auberge d'Lill in France and is one of their classics. The dish is basically a salmon fillet topped with a mousseline and sauced with a lobster bisque. The Pavé of Beef Le Gavroche is a riff on a dish we did at Le Gavroche in London. The original recipe hailed from chef Carême and used a ribeye steak. I used boneless shortribs instead. Dinner finished with my pastry-chef wife's Dutch Apple Pie with a streusel topping. The winery did a great job paring the wines with the dinner. Given the location of the dinner in the barrel room, we were in no danger of running out of wine!

Tastefully,

 

Chef Michael Hutchings 

 

Camarata Pacifica Menu at Sanford Winery