Coastal Cooking with Chef Michael Hutchings: May 2017

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May 2017

May 22, 2017

Downton Abbey Dinner for Choral Society

We catered a dinner for the Santa Barbara Choral Society this past weekend. The theme was Downton Abbey and I worked with consulting chef Darren McGrady to design a menu from the Victorian period. From his web page: "Chef Darren McGrady was personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales and Princes’ William and Harry for fifteen years and has cooked for Presidents’ Ford, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush.He is now a chef, author, culinary consultant, event planner and public speaker living in Dallas, Texas. His first cookbook titled ‘Eating Royally; Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen’ is now in sixth print with all of his advance and royalties donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation."

Downton Abbey inspired Menu

Lady Mary’s Crab Canapés

Stuffed-Deviled Tea Eggs

Mushroom Tarts in Phyllo

Salad with Saffron Vinaigrette

tender greens, pear tomatoes

Crawley Breast of Chicken

caper cream sauce

Petite Carrots

Blue Lake Green Beans

Bubble and Squeak Potatoes

Vegetarian-Gluten Free Option

Tower of Vegetables

red bell pepper coulis

English Sherry Trifle

fresh berries, pound cake

Dinner Rolls and Butter

There is always an added pressure when cooking another chef's menu. We had to up our game. The dinner was well received and we were delighted to receive a gracious note from the event chair.

"Dear Chef: I personally want to thank you so very much for the excellent services your catering company provided for the Santa Barbara Choral Society's May 20 "Rockwood Abbey" event.

I have heard nothing but raves about the excellent food and the wonderful serving staff. Your hard working prep staff deserves a round of applause too. And speaking of applause, Richard Mineards did call for you to take a bow, but I think the staff did not have enough advance notice to go get you in time -- but you did receive a very enthusiastic round of applause.

Mary Dan and I want to also give a shout out to your staff who went the extra mile on more than one occasion. They totally thrilled us by washing and boxing up all the wine glasses that belong to SBCS. We did not expect that, and were pleased beyond measure not to have to deal with that at the end of a long night.

I hope that the guests at the gala will remember their fine dinner and think of you when they have a catering need. Everything was beautifully done from start to finish. My role as co-chair had me running around a bit, so that I only had a mouthful of the vegetarian dish but absolutely loved every morsel. That coulis was amazing!

Again, many many thanks for making this a most special meal."

Event Chair Marylove

Posted by Michael Hutchings at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 20, 2017

The Inn Crowd Cooks for the Santa Barbara Police Foundation with Chef Michael Hutchings

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"Ladies in Red"

Lisa Douglas, Denise Sedowsky, Anne Anderson Arlene Montesanol Chef Michael Hutchings, Ursula Nesbitt, Karla Blackwell, Andrea Kahman

Chef Michael Hutchings prepares a gala dinner for the Santa Barbara Police Foundation. Hosted by Craig Case, the dinner features "The ladies in Red" serving invited guests. The dinner was the results of a very successful auction in the fall of 2016. The gala was held at a grand old estate in Montecito, California. For the menu, I borrowed heavily from chefs I have read about, worked for or observed during my formative years. Chefs Antoine Carême, Albert Roux, Frédy Girardet and Michel Richard are reflected in this retrospective menu.

The Foundation supports the Santa Barbara Police Department by raising community awareness and providing needed funds for three primary purposes:

To provide information, resources, and financial support for deceased, injured, disabled or catastrophically ill police officers, or employees, of the Santa Barbara Police Department and their families.

To purchase and donate equipment requested by the officers of the Santa Barbara Police Department to support law enforcement efforts.

To provide financial assistance and access to counseling services for the men and women of the Santa Barbara Police Department, and other first responders of the Tri-County area, as deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors.

Frédy_Girardet_(1982)_by_Erling_Mandelmann

Chef Frédy Girardet

Chef Michael Richard

Chef Albert Roux

Chef Marie-Antoine Carême

View us on The Inn Crowd Saturdays at 6:30 on ABC affiliate KEY channel 3. Please note that the air time my vary to as late as 9:30 during the sports season. You may 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 filmed and directed this show.

Put on your apron, grab your whisk, fire up the oven and get on your apron. I'll provide the recipes, the rest is up to you. See you in the kitchen.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

Lamb Jus copy

Photo Courtesy of The Berry Man Produce

Guy Demangeon, Owner of The Berry Man Produce

A special thanks to The Berry Man Produce for providing the great produce for our show!

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

Posted by Michael Hutchings at 09:15 PM in Food, Drink, Recipes, The Inn Crowd Cooking Show | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 13, 2017

The Inn Crowd with Chef Michael Hutchings Welcomes Chief of Police Lori Luhnow

Chef Michael, Chief Lori Luhnow, Host Craig Case

Chef Michael Hutchings and Host Craig Case welcome Santa Barbara's Chief of Police, Lori Luhnow, to the kitchen of The Inn Crowd. Chief Lori is an advocate of the paleo style of dining so that became the theme for this episode. The first course of Tenderloin Carpaccio, with a mustard sauce and arugula, was the first salvo. Rainbow trout stuffed with fennel and set on a ragout of mini bell peppers was the main course. Dessert, a challenge in Paleo style, uses almonds and walnuts in a delightfully light cake. I couldn't resist a few berries and raspberry sauce for the chef's touch.

Here is a brief overview of this style of dining from Wikipedia. "The Paleolithic diet (also called the paleo diet, caveman diet or stone-age diet) is based mainly on foods presumed to have been available to Paleolithic humans. Wide variability exists in the way the diet is interpreted. However, the diet typically includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots, meat, and organ meats while excluding foods such as dairy products, grains, sugar, legumes, processed oils, salt, and alcohol or coffee. The diet is based on avoiding not just modern processed foods, but rather the foods that humans began eating after the Neolithic Revolution when humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to settled agriculture. The ideas behind the diet can be traced to Walter Voegtlin, and were popularized in the best-selling books of Loren Cordain."

Put on your apron, grab your whisk, fire up the oven and get on your apron. I'll provide the recipes, the rest is up to you. See you in the kitchen.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

Trout copy

Photo Courtesy of The Berry Man Produce

Guy Demangeon, Owner of The Berry Man Produce

A special thanks to The Berry Man Produce for providing the great produce for our show!

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

Posted by Michael Hutchings at 07:15 PM in Food, Drink, Recipes, The Inn Crowd Cooking Show | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 06, 2017

The Inn Crowd Cooks Three Star Salmon with Chef Michael Hutchings

Chef Michael, Nina Terzian, Host Craig Case

The Inn Crowd, hosted by producer Craig Case and Chef Michael Hutchings welcomes business women and socialite Nina Terzian to The Inn Crowd kitchen. We taped the show at her stunning seaside estate in Montecito, California. Nina's request was that we prepare a seafood oriented menu to reflect the location. I selected a trio of salmon dishes from restaurants that I trained at in France during my European era. The Pres Catalan, Paris, Alain Chapel, Mionnay, and Troisgros in Roanne are featured. Nina dubbed the trio of salmon dishes "The Salmon Run." Dessert is a must and we prepared a spectacular "Crepamisu" dish inspired by the Italian dessert Tiramisu.

View us on The Inn Crowd Saturdays at 6:30 on ABC affiliate KEY channel 3. Please note that the air time my vary to as late as 9:30 during the football season. You may 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 filmed and directed this show.

Put on your apron, grab your whisk, fire up the oven and get on your apron. I'll provide the recipes, the rest is up to you. See you in the kitchen.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings