Coastal Cooking with Chef Michael Hutchings

Menus from Restaurant Troisgros March 1981

 

Maison Troisgros Photo Wikipedia

The Restaurant Troisgros in Roanne, France, is operated by the third generation of the Troisgros family with chef Michel Troisgros presiding at the stove. I had the opportunity to do a "stage" there in March of 1981. For the record, a stage is a brief unpaid internship. I found the brothers Troisgros to be warm, and genuine people that were happy to share their culinary expertise. The brothers were early proponents of the "nouvelle cuisine" movement. See my previous post about the restaurant.

I had met Chef Jean Troigros in the Napa Valley when he was a presenter at The Great Chefs of France series held at the Robert Mondavi Winery in 1977. Ironically, I tried to get a position at his restaurant at that time but they were not open to the idea. It was through chef Albert Roux of Le Gavroche fame that I was able to get a month long stage some four years later. What luck. The kitchen was state of the art and featured a glass ceiling and easy to clean island style cooking stations. There was a crew of 15 divided along the usual line of pastry, fish, meat, vegetables. I spent a fare amount of time in the pastry section. They were famous for the Chariot des Desserts, a trolly full of sweets. Along with my experiences at other three star restaurants, the recipes were an open book.

While there at Maison Troisgros, I collected menus from the daily specials. They are a great representation of state of the art cooking at that time. Their book called The Nouvelle Cuisine of Jean & Pierre Troisgros has many of these recipes. I bought a French edition of the book and read it with a dictionary in hand. The dishes still play well today even against the molecular gastronomy crowd. Their most iconic dish, and most imitated, was an escalope of salmon with a sorrel sauce, along with the Mosaique of Vegetables with fresh truffles, Oysters Julia, Salade Nouvelle and that dessert cart.

For the record, here are the menus to follow.

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

Menu Cover Circa 1981

 

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Currently at Maison Troisgros, they offer a similar menu as a sort of retrospective. The only difference is the price!

 

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The Inn Crowd Cooking Show Next Episode

Tune in this Saturday at 9:30pm on KEYT NewsChannel 3 for an all-new episode of The Inn Crowd. Host Craig Case and Chef Michael Hutchings will be cooking with Chad & Ginni Dreier at their beautiful Santa Barbara beach house!

 

Chad Dreier, Chef Michael, Ginni Dreier, Host Craig Case Photo W. Conlin

Santa Barbara Culinary Arts (SBCA) cookbook launch party

The 2014 Santa Barbara Culinary Arts cookbook was so successful–sold out in 3 months!–that the nonprofit is publishing a second edition with new recipes and in hardcover. It will debut at the gala cookbook launch party Saturday, October 24th from noon – 3 pm at the Bacara Resort & Spa.

Enjoy food samples from around 20 chefs and have them sign your cookbook! Restaurants, caterers and food purveyors that will be bringing food and/or signing books include (full list forthcoming):

Bacara Resort & Spa Chef Johan Denizot, Bella Vista at Four Seasons the Biltmore, Belmond El Encanto, Deux Bakery, Hitching Post II, Jane restaurant, Louise’s Kitchen Table, Lorraine Lim, Chef Michael Hutchings of Michael’s Catering, Santa Barbara Tamales-To-Go, Chef Stephane Rapp, and Trattoria Uliveto.

Premium wine tasting with the wineries that include the Foley Food & Wine Society, Westerly, Santa Barbara Winery and the Hitching Post II.

This event is a fundraiser and proceeds benefit our endowment of the Santa Barbara Culinary Arts Scholarship in Honor of Julia Child.

Tickets are $50 for the general public, $45 for SBCA members who have paid their yearly dues. SBCA membership is open to the public and offers discounts on our events as well as other benefits. Please contact Karyn at 805-895-6750 or santabarbaraculinaryarts[at]yahoo[dot]com if you are interested in joining.

Please purchase tickets at: http://www.meetup.com/Santa-Barbara-Culinary-Arts

Cookbooks will be available for purchase at the event, or contact us to preorder. We’ve sold nearly half our books through preorder already!

Bacara Resort & Spa - 8301 Hollister Avenue, Goleta, CA 93117, USA

 

PS I will be offering tastes of potato blinis with golden caviar! See you there.

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

The Inn Crowd Cooking Show New Season

Please tune in to see the premier of season six. Here is the inaugural promotion for our first show of the season. We have a great season lined up with more episodes in interesting locations and fabulous guests. Did I mention tasty food? Let the tasty times begin!

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

The Inn Crowd Cooking Show Wins Prestigious Award Returns for Season Six

William Conlin, Chef Michael Hutchings, Craig Case, Harlene Conlin, Gary Conlin

 

 

SANTA BARBARA, CA - The Inn Crowd, the award winning food and wine television show, will return to ABC Affiliate KEYT, News Channel 3, beginning this Saturday night, September 26 at 9:30pm. The Inn Crowd can also be seen on the Santa BarbaraNewsPress website tv.newspress.com.  

Chef Michael, Arlene Montasano, Host Craig Case

 

Sea Bass Basque Style

Starring Chef Michael Hutchings, teacher, caterer, author, and renowned restaurateur, each week The Inn Crowd will feature new culinary delights, along with a special celebrity guest.  In addition to learning new dishes, The Inn Crowd audience will be shown the relationship between food and wine and suggested wine parings to enhance the dining experience. For the season opener, Philanthropist Arlene Montesano will be featured. Join us to learn about preparing a delicious three course meal featuring great local products. The Berry Man Produce supplies our herbs, fruits and vegetables and The Tent Merchant provides table top settings and props.

 

 

 

Crossroads Estate

 

The Inn Crowd is primarily filmed at The Crossroads Estate, situated in the heart of the beautiful Firestone Vineyards in Santa Ynez, California.  During Season 6, The Inn Crowd will also be hitting the road, featuring culinary experiences at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, The Queen Mary, and at local estates such as Chad and Ginni Dreier’s Beach House, and the home of Milt and Arlene Larson, founder of The Magic Castle.

 

 

The Foley Food and Wine Society will once again be the Presenting Sponsor, with other well-known and respected sponsors joining in.

 

Mark Danielson, General Manager of KEYT said “We are pleased to be associated with this locally produced show, which has proven to be a very popular addition to our entertainment lineup.”

 

Craig Case, Executive Producer and Host of The Inn Crowd, is “pleased to once again be working with Chef Michael Hutchings, and YTS Digital Films—Will Conlin, Harlene Conlin, and Gary Conlin—in the production of this ever expanding franchise.  We continue to be delighted with the response to our show, especially this past season, as the audience growth and interest has been substantial.”

 

 

Tely Award

Recently, The Inn Crowd received the prestigious Telly Award, for Outstanding Regional Television for Season 5.  Founded in 1979, The Telly Award is the premier award honoring outstanding local and regional cable and television programs. The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, and corporate video departments in the world. The Telly Awards is a widely known and highly respected national and international competition and receives over 12,000 entries annually from all 50 states and many foreign countries.

 

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New Wave Vegetable Platter

 

New Wave Vegetable Platter

 

We have one client that loves vegetables. I created this riff on a vegetable crudités platter. Some of the vegetables are raw but others I roast or blanch to bring out the best in flavor. We are fortunate in California to have this bounty at our doorstep. I compliment the platter with sauces such as aioli, basil pesto, hummus and the like.

To your health!

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

 

 

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Gallery of Salads

 Salads? I have a passel of them. Maybe it's a California bent or has some origins in the nouvelle cuisine Salade Composée or even a well made Chef's Salad. None of them resemble the iceberg salad we had as kids with some sort of creamy bottled dressing. These have designer ingredients and dressings of now seemingly exotic oils and vinegars.

I place a lot of emphasis on interesting ingredients arrange to show of the shapes, colors and textures of the components. Dressing run the range from extra virgin olive oil, pistachio oil, hazelnut and truffle oils as well. Another facet that sets these apart is the china we are able to use in clients homes. In some cases they are antiques and are valued in the hundreds of dollars each! They are akin to a great designer gown on an already attractive women.

Here then are a few of the Salade Composées we have done over the last year.

Bon Apetit

 

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Taste of the Town 2015 - 34th Year

 

Alexander de Jesus - Chef Michael Hutchings

Taste of the Town is the oldest, continuos food and wine event in Santa Barbara, CA. This past Sunday was the 34 iteration of the event, held at the Riviera Business Park (former UCSB Campus). I was on the original board that started the event in 1981 and have been involved as a participant ever since. The event initially benefitted three charities (Arthritis, Heart and Lung) and now just the Arthritis Foundation.

I estimated that we have donated some $20,000 plus in goods and services to support the event over the last 34 years. Some 1000 guests sample food and wine from over 40 participants. As a participant, part of the fun is seeing many of our colleagues that we only see at events such as this. There are also folks that remember dishes that we have served in the past, such as my famed Abalone Comme Chez Nous.

Mark your calendar for next year, September 11, for the 35 annual Taste of the Town. I'll be there and will have a spectacular array once again!

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

  

It would be a stretch to recall every dish we prepared for the event but here are a few highlights.

 

Potato Blini, Golden Caviar and Creme Fraiche

Cultured Abalone, Beurre Blanc with enoki daki, dill and tomato

Chocolate Mousse with Cognac

Bouillabaisse en Gelée

Saffron Ice Cream, Fennel Biscotti

Local Spot Prawns Provençale Style

Paella of Local Fish

Petit Fours - Tuiles, Macarons, Aiguillettes, Coconut "Rocks", truffles, Sablé

Salmon Escalope, Sorrel Sauce

Local Mussels "Mouclade Style"

Scallops on Pea Blinis, Herb Butter Sauce

Mini Schnitzle

Avocado Terrine Laced with Local Crab

Braised Pork, Mole Sauce, Tamale Pancakes, Tomatillo Sauce

Ridgeback Shrimp Sausage on Vegetable Julienne, Nantua Sauce

Green Tagliatelle Pasta, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Prosciutto, Pine Nuts and Pest Cream

 

 

The Inn Crowd Cooking Show Welcomes Arlene Montesano

 

 

 

Chef Michael, Arlene Montesano, Host Craig Case

Chef Michael Hutchings and Craig Case, host of The Inn Crowd welcomes Arlene Montesano to the kitchen at the Crossroads Estate in the picturesque Santa Ynez Valley. Arlene is a bon vivant, entrepreneur and philanthropist in Santa Barbara and is active with a number of non-profits such as The Food Bank.

This episode is the first of our new season. We have a great lineup of noteable guests and will be going out and about on the central California coast to fascinating locations. Be sure and tune in each week.

 

 

 Foley Family Wines is ounce again our winery sponsor and provides wines from their vast portfolio. The Foley Food and Wine Society is a great way to enjoy wines from the numerous estates in the portfolio. The society embraces the lifestyle of food, wine and travel.

 

 

 

 

Chef Michael and Arlene Montesano Photo W. Conlin

The menu on this episode features a refreshing salad of petit fennel, shaved very thin,  and mushrooms garnished with grapefruit sections. The main course highlights a local sea bass prepared Basque style from the northern region of Spain. The local white sea bass is one of the best produces from our local Santa Barbara waters. Dessert brings together cherries, chocolate and port with a rich chocolate cake and port poached cherries. Each course has a wine selection from the Foley Family Wines.

Arlene, Chef Michael and Craig, Photo W. Conlin

 

Join is on The Inn Crowd Saturdays at 9:30 (new time for the fall season) on ABC affiliate KEY channel 3. View the show on-line at the Santa Barbara News Press. Look to the right side of the web page for a link to the show. YTS Digital Films produced and directed this show.

Put on your apron, grab your food processor and hang on to your whisk. I'll provide the recipes, the rest is up to you. See you in the kitchen.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Fennel Salad Photo A de Jesus

 

Sea Bass Basque Style Photo W. Conlin

 

Chocolate Dessert, Port-Poached Cherries Photo W. Conlin

 

Santa Ynez Valley Vineyards Photo M Hutchings

All recipes copyright 2015 Michael Hutchings, All Rights Reserved

Photo Credits William Conlin YTS Video Productions, unless otherwise noted.

 

 

A Simple Santa Barbara Salad

 

Avocado Salad

 

 

 

Auguste Escoffier - Photo Wikipedia

The great chef Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935) had a maxim, "Faites Simple" or that is to say, make it simple. Simple to Escoffier was still very elaborate by today's standards. Escoffier simplified a very elaborate cuisine codified by Antonin Carême in the early 1800s. I ran across a concise biography of Escoffier that is a must read for any foodie interested in a little history, http://artofeating.com/why-escoffier-surtout-faites-simple/

 

Here is a quote from that link that sums up the still very sumptuous cooking style prepared by Chef Escoffier and his brigade.

"Classical French cooking reached its height in European grand hotels before the First World War. It was, by necessity, a cuisine of pomp and ceremony in which dishes were named after favored customers or their mistresses and the ground rules required showy presentation and conspicuously expensive ingredients." Taken from the link mentioned above.

 

But I digress to make a "simple" point. Here is a truly simple summery salad I made recently. It's an avocado dressed with a salsa composed of hot house cucumbers, vine tomatoes, poblano peppers and basil all swathed in a pistachio oil-balsamic dressing. It would have been made even better had I had the local spot prawns to flank the avocado.

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Canapés - Those Little Bites Before Dinner

Canapé Display

Often when we cater, we are preparing canapés to preceded a dinner or are in fact the main event at a reception or cocktail party. There are hundred of different selections in our repertoire.

The selection above was for a small dinner party that had prime tenderloin and a tart tatin to follow. Canapés included (from upper left) smoked salmon mousse on brioche, melon with imported prosciutto, fondant potatoes with goat cheese, deviled quail's eggs. Hungry? Give us a call.

Chef Michael Hutchings

À La Minute Dinner

 

Dinner with a View

 

 

Beef Tenderloin and Shrimp on Couscous

In the culinary arts, mainly in high-volume restaurants, à la minute refers to a style of cooking where an item, or particularly its accompanying sauce, is prepared to order, rather than being prepped in advance.

Likewise, we sometimes get a catering request À La Minute. On a recent Saturday morning, I got a call at 11:30 AM from a lady asking if we could do a dinner party that evening for 15 guests at a bachelorette party. We were not engaged for an event that evening so I took it on. The caterer they had lined up had some sort of family emergency and dropped out. 

 

They were much relieved that their party could go forward. I even used the menu ideas they had planned with the other caterer. I think we could have served pineapple glazed spam and made them happy. However we did our usual culinary magic and prepared a delicious upscale dinner À La Minute.

Canapes

Smoked Salmon on Endive Leaves

Selection of Cheeses and Fresh Fruits

Salad of Mixed Seasonal Greens Vinaigrette 

Petit Tenderloin and Shrimp Provençal

Couscous

Seasonal Vegetable Medley

Spreckles Ice Cream Buffet

Chef's Lemon Ice Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream

Spreckles, Jimmies, Coconut, Pecans

Assorted Cookies and Crisp Petit Fours

Bread Service

Coffee Service

Culinary Classic

Michael's Catering

 

This is our new ad soon to appear in musical programs in Santa Barbara.  We are delighted to serve the musical community in town, especially Camarata Pacifica. Call us today to book your holiday and special occasion catering. 805 568-1896

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

Chocolate-Raspberry Tart

Chocolate-Raspberry Tart

I teach pastry cooking at the local city college culinary department. Today's lecture was making a variety of doughs. One of the resulting desserts was a sugar dough (sucree) crust filled with raspberries and glazed with ganache. It's a dish from chef Michel Roux's repertoire, simple but delicious. The ganache, a chocolate and cream filling, is poured over the berries while still warm. When the ganache is cool, it can be piped on with a piping bag for decorative accents. Want the recipe? Just send me an email request.

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

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