Welcome to another episode of The Santa Barbara Chef. I am Chef Michael Hutchings, the chef/host. Join me for some delicious cooking on the American Riviera. Set against the backdrop of Santa Barbara, we showcase the jewels of my culinary repertoire from some forty-five years at the stove. Look for the finest local ingredients, classic food styles and bushels of tips to prepare elegant, tasty meals.
In this episode, I prepare my signature dish, Cultured Abalone Comme Chez Nous. The abalone is the red abalone and is farmed by The Cultured Abalone mariculture farm near Santa Barbara. I have been preparing farmed abalone since 1981. John McMullen of the AbLab company introduced me to them. John was raising them to help restore the depleted wild stocks. In later years, John said we helped his company survive. See my previous blog for more information about this terrific ingredient, Abalone Blog. If you do not have access to abalone, use sea scallops instead. Slice them into ½ inch sections and prepare in the same way. Click here for the video I did with the Cultured Abalone Farm.
The main course is a local squab farmed by Gary Carpenter at the Carpenter Squab Ranch. Founded in 1921, the ranch is located in the foothills between the towns of Carpinteria and Ojai, California, minutes from Santa Barbara. The squab is prepared with mushrooms and grapes and set on a Pomme Jete Promenade, a classic. We used to do this potato at the Club 33, a private club inside the Anaheim Disneyland Park. Club 33 was my gateway to becoming a chef. The Black Hat Chef, Rudy Stoy, was my first mentor.
Dessert is one of my all-time favorites, the Tart Tatin. In fact, it is on the fantasy "last meal" menu of mine. The dish originates from the Hotel Tatin in France. Two sisters, the Damoisselle Tatin, invented the dish. The tarte Tatin was created accidentally at the Hôtel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, Loir-et-Cher, about 100 miles (160 km) south of Paris, in the 1880s. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. (Wikipedia).
I know of several versions. In one, butter and sugar are placed in a tin-lined copper pan and apples are peeled, halved and packed inside. They are slowly cooked, adding more apples to fill the pan, until the apples are slightly browned and a rich caramel is formed. A lid of puff pastry is placed on top of the tart then baked until the pastry is crisp. This is the method demonstrated to me by Chef James Sly. It takes a couple of hours to prepare with this method.
At Le Gavroche in London, we cooked a Tart Tatin Minute. Apples, sugar, and butter were placed in a pan, cooked to a caramel, topped with puff pastry and then baked 12-15 minutes. Whipped cream on the side.
Segue to now, I use my pastry-chef wife's (Christine Dahl) Tatin method. Butter and sugar are cooked to a caramel stage, the caramel is placed in an individual 4-ounce mold then topped first with peeled, cored, sliced apples then a top of puff pastry. Baking takes about 12-15 minutes. This is great for ease of preparation and presentation. Pass the French-Vanilla Ice Cream, please!
Join is watching the show on COX cable television, channel 4 at 11:00 Friday mornings (Areas Santa Barbara, Long Beach Orange County, San Diego, and Palm Springs). Check your local listing as well. We will be airing on Amazon Prime starting in January 2020.
Tastefully,
Chef Michael Hutchings
The light and sound masters of Hellcat Productions, bring the magic to you. Will Conlin, Harlene Conlin, and Gary Conlin form the triumvirate that produces, directs, and edits The Santa Barbara Chef.
