Coastal Cooking with Chef Michael Hutchings

Osso Bucco - Italian Comfort Food

 

Osso Bucco Milan Style

Osso Bucco is one of my most favorite entrees to both cook and enjoy. I first learned of this dish from my friend James Sly when we were cooking at a restaurant called La Serre in the LA area, circa 1977. Reduced to its simplest description, it is a veal stew barley on a bone. Veal shanks are cut into about 3-inch sections, center-cut being the choicest. My son-in-law Clint manages a country club in the Charleston area and has access to commercial-grade prime meats. Clint was kind enough to get me a case of the best veal shanks I have ever seen, They were uniform in size, perfect center cuts, and a light color indicating that they were truly from a young calf. After all, good cooking is about 70% using great ingredients. He also brought over veal bones as I needed to make a demi-glace that I used to cook the veal. That is another story. It is a two-day process to make that.

The process of preparing the veal is to tie it with kitchen twine, season with salt and pepper, brown in vegetable oil, cover with demi-glace, add cut up oranges, cover with a parchment paper then a lid, slow cook for 3-4 hours until tender, remove the veal, cover with plastic, strain the sauce and reduce until it is a coating consistency, rehat vel in the sauce and serve. That was easy! I serve it with saffron risotto and mixed vegetables. I added mashed potatoes as well since my grandkids, Clint and daughter came over to enjoy the dinner.

No veal at the store? Try making it with chicken thighs. Just reduce cooking times. I also do a fun version with salmon and make a "bone" out of a carved potato with scallops mimicking the bone marrow.

Tastefully,

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

Ready to Braise in Orange-Scented Demi-Glace

Master of Nouvelle Cuisine Chef Freddy Girardet

Some might say that cooking is easy, just buy great ingredients and keep it simple. One of the greatest dishes I ever saw prepared was a "simple" Dover Sole Meuniere prepared at Restaurant Girardet in 1981. Some might say, how pedestrian a dish. In the hands of a master, it was a revelation.

Sole Muniere - Photo James Sly

First, the sole was prepared for cooking by removing the skin, cutting off the fins and head, and removing the intestines. A special Dover sole pan was heated and filmed with clarified butter. The sole was bathed in milk, seasoned, dredged in all-purpose flour and placed into the pan. Fresh butter was added as needed, skimmed of foam as it cooked and basted with the cooking butter. After cooking both sides about 3-4 minutes each, the pan was degreased, fresh butter added, freshly chopped parsley sprinkled on the fish and fresh lemon juices to finish the dish. A waiter was standing by to take the fish out, still steaming, for a tableside procedure to fillet the fish and present it to the guests. Simple, precise and perfect.

My dear friend chef James Sly was a master of this simple dish. Here is a blog he wrote some time back. He has a great story of how he introduced Santa Barbara to the famed Dover sole preparation at the request of Julia Child. Sadly James left us in August of 2019.

Tastefully

Chef Michael Hutchings

Frédy Girardet (born 17 November 1936) is a Swiss chef who cooks in the French tradition. Often considered one of the greatest chefs of the 20th Century, his self-named restaurant in Crissier, Switzerland (near Lausanne, Switzerland) earned three Michelin stars and before Girardet's retirement in 1996 was often called the greatest restaurant in the world.

 

A Berry Crumble Dessert

 

Seasonal Berry Crumble-Photo Will Conlin

I have always favored desserts with fresh berries or other fruits as a component. Apple Tart Tatin, Sable of Fresh Berries, Fresh Fruit Tart on Frangipane to name a few. It may be because growing up with five other siblings, berries were not often on the table due to economics. This recipe is a wonderful dessert for berries and works also with summer fruits, especially peaches and apricots. This dessert is featured on one of my cooking shows, The Santa Barbara Chef,  now viewable on Vimeo and soon on Amazon Prime.

I have produced over 145 cooking videos over the last few years. The theme throughout has been my take on modern and classic California-French approach to cooking. Local ingredients play a large role in the dishes I offer. Filmed in the original silent picture studio, Flying A Studios, Santa Barbara is the backdrop for the show. Now, my cooking show is available worldwide on Vimeo. Here is a link to Vimeo, The Santa Barbara Chef on Vimeo.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

So Much Going On

Greetings from Charleston, South Carolina, our new hometown. Yes, I have moved from the idyllic Santa Barbara, home for most of the years from 1981 to 2020. Spock-like logic fueled the decision to locate in a more affordable town with grandkids nearby. We now have a beautiful home on James Island situated adjacent to a small pond full of wildlife.

Charleston is a lifestyle town somewhat like Santa Barbara. Music, the arts and an active food scene are activities we are looking forward to enjoying. We have two "favorite" restaurants already. Lewis is a Texas-style BBQ with the best prime brisket I have ever had. Order the slice from the fat side! Oh yes, great sides of slaw, beans and potato salad. Walk up to the carving station, get your meat cut to order and grab a beverage. The kitchen showcases a line of imposing BBQ Smokers. They look like propane tanks repurposed as smokers. Come hungry.

Our other find is an oyster bar-restaurant on King Street called The Darling Oyster Bar. Impeccably fresh oysters are popped open as you wait. They do a very decent clam chowder with fresh clams, chunks of potatoes and a not-too-thick cream base.

As we get settled and the world moves to a new normal, we will be exploring the culinary points of interest and sharing them on my blog.

Tastefully, Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Master Class with Chef Albert Roux

 

First, a little history lesson. In 1984, with the backing and support of the Roux Brothers, Albert and Michel, I founded a restaurant called Michael's Waterside Inn. It took the name from their Michelin starred restaurant the Waterside Inn, located in Brea on Thames. I had worked at the flagship restaurant Le Gavroche for three years from 1978 to 1981.

Chef Albert would periodically fly out from London to review operations at Michael's Waterside and do promotional events. The above menu was from a master class that Chef Albert conducted assisted by myself. The recipes were from their book, New Classic Cuisine. While I was working as a sous chef of Le Gavroche, we helped write the book. Chef Albert would ask for one of the menu recipes to be formalized.

All of these recipes play well even today. They are classics.

Tastefully, Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

Passing of a Culinary Icon, Chef Michel Roux

Photo Wikipedia

It is with a heavy heart that I read of the passing of Chef Michel Roux of the famous Roux Brothers restaurant empire. Chef Michel was 78. I met Michel and spent time in his Waterside Inn kitchen in 1978-1981 while I was training at Le Gavroche in London with his brother, chef Albert Roux. He was a chef's chef, a great businessman and a culinary icon that help revolutionize fine dining in Great Britain. His skill as a pastry chef was legendary. His collection of cookbooks that he authored is a gift to any serious culinarian.

At one point in 1981, I met up with Chef Michel at the Pierre Hotel in New York. We were meeting with the Four Seasons Hotel group with the idea of opening a fine dining restaurant in the Hotel Pierre. We had the grand tour of all the best vendors in the city and made a trip to Montreal, Canada to meet with Mr. Sharp, head of the Four Seasons Hotels. We designed the kitchen in a matter of hours and Michel negotiated the terms of the business deal. Unfortunately, the project did not move forward due to a recession the occurred at that time.

 

Chef Michael will be greatly missed and it is a great loss to the food world.

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

From Wikipedia

Michel Roux, OBE ([mi.ʃɛl ʁu]; 19 April 1941 – 11 March 2020), also known as Michel Roux Snr., was a French chef and restaurateur working in Britain. Along with his brother Albert, he opened Le Gavroche, later to become the first three Michelin starred restaurant in Britain, and The Waterside Inn, which was the first restaurant outside France to hold three stars for 25 years.

Roux followed his brother into becoming a pastry chef, and again to England in order to open their first restaurant. Together they have been described as the "godfathers of modern restaurant cuisine in the UK", and Roux was inducted into several French orders and received two-lifetime achievement awards from different publications. He was decorated during a period of National Service for France during the 1960s.

He founded the Roux Brothers Scholarship along with Albert in 1984 and worked as a consultant for companies such as British Airways and Celebrity Cruises over the years. After he and his brother split the business in 1986, Roux took the Waterside Inn, which he handed over to his son, Alain, in 2002. He remained an active food writer and appeared on television shows such as Saturday Kitchen, MasterChef and the Roux family-centric series The Roux Legacy, and on the Woman's Hour program on BBC Radio 4.^[1]

The Rouxs, Alain, Michel, Albert and Michel Jr.

The Santa Barbara Chef Cooking Show Now on Amazon Prime and Vimeo

Now, Available on Amazon Prime and Vimeo

I have produced over 145 cooking videos over the last few years. The theme throughout has been my take on modern and classic California-French approach to cooking. Local ingredients play a large role in the dishes I offer. Filmed in the original silent picture studio, Flying A Studios, Santa Barbara is the backdrop for the show. Now, my cooking show is now available worldwide on Amazon Prime and Vimeo. Here is a link to The Santa Barbara Chef on Amazon Prime and Vimeo, The Santa Barbara Chef on Vimeo.  See my blog for more. 

You can stream Season 1 of The Santa Barbara Chef on Amazon Prime Video (free with Prime membership)! Enjoy recipes, cooking tips, and more from renowned Chef Michael Hutchings! We welcome you to the kitchen and hope you will consider giving us a 5-star review! #TheSantaBabaraChef

 

Following is the announcement for the original airing of the show on Santa Barbara's local cable, from our Facebook page.

"Tune in to see mouthwatering episodes of The Santa Barbara Chef! This delicious new show is hosted by the one and only Chef Michael Hutchings!

Chef Michael is a culinary legend who has served as Executive Chef of Club 33 at Disneyland, worked alongside Julia Child and brought prestige and accolades to his previous appearances on television. In 1984, he opened Michael's Waterside restaurant in partnership with Albert Roux of Le Gavroche in London.

Now, Chef Michael has partnered with William, Gary & Harlene Conlin of Hellcat Productions/YTS Films to truly up the game, creating a luxury cooking show with gourmet recipes that viewers can easily make at home."

Cooking on The American Riviera.

Tastefully, Chef Michael Hutchings

In Studio

 

 

 

Photos by Will Conlin of YTS Films and Hellcat Productions

Poulet au Vinaigre de Vin Troisgros Style

Back in 1981, I was fortunate to have spent a month sabbatical at Restaurant Troisgros in France. At the time, the two brothers Jean and Pierre Troisgros were at the stove. Their three-starred Michelin restaurant was at the forefront of a style of cooking called Nouvell Cuisine.

The kitchen itself was a wonder. The ceiling was lined with automobile type glass. All work surfaced could be cleaned with a bucket of water and a squeegee. It is a very open design and overlooks the garden of the B&B they operate next door.

In their cookbook, Cuisiniers a Roanne, they have a recipe for Poulet au Vinaigre de Vin. I have personalized my version of the recipe with the addition of mushrooms and the use of canned cherry tomatoes.

I prepared this dish to celebrate my wife Christine's and my twelfth wedding anniversary. We would have preferred to dine out in our new hometown, Charleston, SC, but the current Corona pandemic has muted all restaurants. It was delicious and the wine pairing of Don Thomas Vineyard 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon was a perfect foil for the dish.

Tastefully,

 

Chef Michael Hutchings