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 a few classic for a springtime-early summer dinner. The first course is a chilled Pea Vichyssoise. I more or less replaced the potatoes with fresh peas. Vichyssoise is a classic French soup that had very humble origins. Chef Louis Diat invented the soup based on his mother's leek and potato soup. Chef Louis added cream and served it chilled. Here is the story as told from Wikipedia: "In 1917 seeking to 'invent some new and startling cold soup' for the menu at the Ritz-Carlton, he recalled his mother's soup. His experimenting soon led to a combination of 'leeks, onions, potatoes, butter, milk, cream, and other seasonings.' Chef Diat named it 'crème vichyssoise glacée' (chilled cream vichyssoise), after Vichy, a spa town near his birthplace in France that is famous for both its exceptional food and its springs. The new item enjoyed 'instant success'. Charles M. Schwab was the first to sample vichyssoise and requested another serving.
Vichyssoise was served the rest of the summer and the following summers. During the colder seasons, he did not include it in the menu, but so many people asked for it, in 1923, Diat placed it on the menu full-time. Diat recalled that Sara Roosevelt had had Vichyssoise and "once called me up at five in the afternoon and asked me to send eight portions to her house". When Diat had no access to leeks in his cooking, his vexation prompted the produce stocker to find a Long Island farmer to cultivate a small yield."
The main course is a riff on the French Navarin d'Agneau. Legend has it that it was named after the battle of Navarino. The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–32), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied forces from Britain, France, and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces trying to suppress the Greeks, thereby making much more likely the independence of Greece. (Wikipedia).
Dessert is a creative collaboration between chef Christine Dahl (my wife) and myself for a multi-chef dinner at Hearst Castle. We called it Peaches on a Cloud in honor of the ethereal location of the Hearst Castle on the Enchanted Hill. At times, the clouds would roll over the hill at the feet of the guests. The Castle dinner was part of the Central Coast Wine Event that existed for over 30 years under the direction of the late Archie McLaren.
Tastefully yours,
Join us 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,
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.
