Beautiful Spain

We were invited to eat at El Bulli (what a good friend). Once you get to the town of Roses, you drive another 30 minutes along absolutely beautiful coast line. Passing all the beach traffic and edging along the coast, I was thinking it was a damn good thing we took a cab for the hour and a half drive from our hotel or we might not have made it back when we left at yes, 1:30 in the morning.

We arrived at El Bulli at 7:30. The restaurant blends in very naturally into the hillside. We paused outside for a few photos; I thought it best to mark the occasion when eating at what is considered to be the best restaurant in the entire world. I was very excited to see the kitchen. It was beautiful. I wish I could have seen it when they were done with service to be able to really walk around all the stations and check it all out. You know, get a glimpse at the chemistry set. It is very large with a lot of open floor space and beautiful windows to the outside. Garde Manger and the hot line were separated by a wall otherwise it was a big, open, rectangular work space. Lots of stainless steel. I didn’t linger, even though I really wanted to just stay there and eat at the table with the chef. I really couldn’t get a better sense of things. We were able to meet the chef and have a photo, which was very gracious of him. There is a sculpture of a bulls head in the middle of the pass. Very cool. 50 people work in the kitchen each evening. I believe they do around 50 guests each night. Wow.

We started out on the terrace, which depending where you are sitting has a beautiful view of the beach or the sea. We moved into the dining room and were seated at a very comfortable table. There were pillows along the banquette and a nice view of the room. Cool old wooden bar in the corner that was used as a service piece for wine service. The interior felt very comfortable, maybe rustic, a sense of glass, white walls, dark wood beams, natural floors, curved archways.

Here is the menu as it was printed for us.

Served on the terrace before dinner came:
Mojito
Crystal of Parmegiano
Coniferous
Mimetics Peanuts
Sesame Cracker
Japanese Cookie
Vanilla Crisps

At the table:
Cherry Umeboshi
Flower Nectar
Coconut Sponge
Berries Cookie
Cornet of Nori with Raspberry and Soya
Oyster Leaf with Dew of Vinegar
Ham and Ginger Canape
Truffle Surprise
Chervil Tea
Prawn two Firings
Mimetic Almond
Cockles with Yuzu
Soya Milk with Soya
Roses/Artichokes
Pumpkin and Almond Sandwich
Sea Anemone with te
Pinenut Shabu-Shabu
Meatballs Shimenshi
Natural Scampi
Parmesan Ravioli
Rabbit Canape with its Giblets
Kidney of Lamb with Jerez Consomme, Yoghurt and Fenne Pond Cherry with Kirsch Coco Puff Pastry of Pineapple Roots Shellfish

And the wines the gentlemen at our table picked:
Manuel Raventos Brut Nature Gran Reserva Personal 2001
Manuel Raventos Brut Narure Gran Reserva Personal 1993
Corton-Les Vergennes Cuvee Paul Chanson 2004 Clos De Vougeot 1997
Barolo Bric del Fiasc 1999
Chatreau Haut Brion 1994
Gewurztraminer Furstentum SGN 1994

The perfect season to cook at home

I hope the movie, Julie & Julia, will inspire people to do more home cooking.

If there was ever a time, it's now. We are at the height of the local farm season, which means things are inexpensive, at their best, and you can buy locally. We are getting heirloom tomatoes, all kinds of beautiful squash (eight ball, yellow, zucchini, patty pan, etc.), squash blossoms, onions, fingerling potatoes, herbs, peaches, nectarines, several kinds of melons and beans to name a few.

I thought I would include some easy home recipes that utilize local products:

CHILLED MELON SOUP
1 ripe cantaloupe, honeydew, charantais, or canary melon
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of melon)
1 cup water
2 basil leaves (optional)

Method:
1. Simple Syrup: In a pot, bring the sugar and water just up to a boil and turn off.

2. Cut the melon into 1/4's, scoop out all the seeds and slice off the rind. (Never cut toward your hand always away from.) Then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

3. Put melon into the simple syrup, turn heat to high and simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and add the basil leaves if you are interested in that flavor. Let it sit for a few minutes to cool down a bit.

4. Puree all in a blender until smooth. Always be careful with hot product in a blender that the lid is on right and that you do not overfill the blender (never more than 75% full).

5. Chill and serve.

*this can be a first course soup or used as a dessert soup perhaps served with ice cream in the center with the soup around.


LOCAL FRESH BLACK EYED PEAS
3 oz Bacon, small dice
1 cup Vidalia or Spanish onion, small dice
3 oz butter
Tabasco to taste
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups home made chicken stock or water

Method:
1. In a pot melt 2 oz of the butter and add the onions and sweat until soft and just beginning to color, about 7 minutes.

2. In a separate sauté pan, heat and add 1 oz of butter and then add the bacon and cook until crispy on medium heat.

3. When the onions are done add the crispy bacon and all the fat to the pan. Sauté 1 minute and then add the water or the chicken stock. Let this simmer for 15 minutes. Now add the black eyed peas and turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Cook peas until soft, yet still retaining their shape. Now add salt, pepper and Tabasco to your taste. Let the peas cool down in their liquid.

*you want your liquid to simmer for a while before adding the peas so flavor can develop before the peas are added. As far as beans go, fresh black eyed peas cook very quickly.

There are many ways you can serve the peas, here are a few ideas:

Add rice to make Hoppin' John. (You would just add rice to the pot at the end of cooking the peas to absorb all the flavor of the stock).

Or you could drain them when cool and add sherry vinegar, a good extra virgin olive oil and greens and make a salad. (Arugula is great with it)

Serve as is with a great piece of Grilled Wild Rockfish, or with a grilled pork rib chop, or pork tenderloin.

Serve with fried green tomatoes and mayonnaise if you're up to it.

I hope you enjoy these simple recipes. Please visit your local farmers market, there is so much to see and enjoy!

26 years and learning

I have been cooking for 26 years, 20 of those years, as a chef. In order for me to continue to learn I read a lot of cookbooks, biographies and periodicals. However, my favorite way to learn, and frankly one of my favorite things to do, is to eat, particularly in a foreign country. So this spring I took a trip to Paris, to learn.

One of my favorite bistros is Chez George in Paris. I had lunch there on my first day. I have to say I love how close together the tables are in a Paris bistro. It makes me feel like I'm sitting down to eat with a bunch of friends, that we're all in this together, that I can turn and talk to the person at my elbow, even though I don't know them, and chat about anything, most likely the food. Anyway, the time before last, at Chez George, we sat next to a couple from Mexico and had a great time talking with them. Before that we met an older couple from Paris and left with their cards and information on their favorite places to eat in Paris. That's what I'm talking about, this stuff only happens when your elbow is touching the person next to you.

This visit I had lentil salad with garlic, which was warm and served from a big bowl that you helped yourself to as much as you liked. Well I liked and could have eaten the whole bowl but controlled myself; I knew what was coming. Turbot!!! Ahhhh, my God I love turbot, it is my favorite fish if I had to claim one. This is a big daddy fish that can weigh up to like a ton – well, you know, maybe 50 pounds: Flat fish, sweet meat, flaky and rich. Also a great foil for a butter sauce, and if you know me, you know how much I love a butter sauce. Let’s just call it by name, Beurre Blanc. But in this case my tranche of turbot was served with another of the great butter sauces, Bearnaise. Thankfully it was served in a "boat" so I could really eat it as I liked. This dish is simple perfection. After the fish I had local strawberries. They are different from ours, tiny, sort of pointy and very flavorful. They were served with a side of creme fraiche, unlike anything you can imagine. So that was lunch the day I flew in - a very good start. Oh and I sat next to some young American movie star, I have no idea his name, heard every word he said. Watch out for those lone diners.

I went to 2 markets while I was there. Poncelet and President Wilson. Poncelet is a neighborhood market. The street is full of cheese shops, pastry shops, butcher shops, fish mongers, and coffee shops. Then the vendors line up in the street. More cheese, meat, fish and produce. This was a beautiful market and made me wish even more that I could cook when I am in Paris. The other market, President Wilson, is a little fancier, bigger. I have been to this market many times, one of the reasons is that there is so much to see and also, my favorite crepe maker is here. There is a sense of excitement here between the vendors calling out what they have for sale and people arguing over price and the vibrancy of color of the food and flowers. It’s a beautiful place to be and a great way to understand the seasonality of food in France.

This was a great trip for me. I found much inspiration in the food I had. I returned home to the first asparagus of the season and was very excited to apply a few ideas I had come up with from the trip. I will say it again, thank you to all our local farmers, you inspire me as much as a trip to Paris!

An important day in my life

One day, several years ago at Charleston, I cooked lunch for Julia Child. She was here for a board meeting and some of our regular guests were in charge of entertaining her when she was here. They called and asked me if I would make lunch for her, knowing that the restaurant is closed for lunch. I of course said yes and that I would make breakfast or a midnight snack for her if she wanted me to.

The day Julia Child walked through the door of the restaurant was one of the best days of my life. I was really nervous and grinned like a stupid idiot most of the day. One thing I will never forget, well two really, was how gracious she was and how damn tall she was.

Upon meeting her, she immediately asked about me. I thought who cares, let’s talk about you. I wanted to ask her a million questions about her life, about what she thinks about this and that recipe, how she started her first cookbook (this was before books about her life had come out) and so on. Way too soon she sat down for lunch. Of course it was time for her to sit down I just didn’t want to lose her to the table. I went back to the kitchen and proceeded to make one of the most important meals of my life. Thank god my husband was there overseeing service and could tell me what she was saying about the food: was she eating it, did she spit it out into her napkin, you know. I truly can’t remember when I came out to the dining room - I think it was after her second course just so I could be near her again, Julia stalker. She made it obvious she wanted me to stay and talk to her at the table (there were more courses to come and I was preparing everything myself), which was both wonderful and excruciating as I should have been back in the kitchen for timing sake.

She asked me some questions and then said the most wonderful thing, why haven’t I heard of you? And then, she said, you need to write a cookbook.

She thanked me for making sweetbreads, one because she loved them and two because she said so few people make them anymore. She was everything and more than what I expected and I am grateful to the guests that brought her in and I am grateful to Tony because he made sure my best effort was served as it should have been. I believe she fell a little bit in love with him, was it the burgundy?

The James Beard Award Experience

I was on a trip to Spain when I found out I had been nominated for a James Beard Award. Actually I was in a hotel on the Mediterranean coast, looking out onto the sea, the sun was rising, when my husband told me I was nominated again. We were on a trip with some of our front and back of house employees, so that they could better understand the beauty of the food, wine and culture of the northern part of Spain. I was happy to find out in that place, on that trip, with those friends.

The day of the awards was the hottest it had ever been on that day in New York. The event took place at Lincoln Center. There was a new aspect, a bit of red carpet - press event "thing" taking place outside the entrance to the awards. I was asked to interview and was extremely excited. That coupled with the fact that Kim Cattrall was going to be one of the hosts of the event made me feel like I really was going to the academy awards for chefs. I may not be the skinniest chef in the world but I sure did have a great pair of shoes on! My husband, by my side, I did a little interview, tried not to absolutely melt in the heat( it's cooler in my kitchen) ( and I don't wear a long dress in there either) and then went inside to what was basically chef bedlam. Wow- was there a lot of people! We went upstairs to get our seats and walked by the tables being set up for the reception after the ceremony. The reception space was beautiful with floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the street; the balcony area had stations set up as well. I can imagine how fantastic a spot it is on a cool evening.

We went into the auditorium and found our seats. I was seated behind Anne Willan, absolutely one of my favorite cookbook authors. What an honor to be seated by her! It was a typical chef event, it took about 6 warnings of lights dropping and announcements before people would sit down. The show began.

Kim Cattrall and Bobby Flay were the hosts. I am a huge Sex and the City fan and was almost as excited to see her as I was to be nominated. She was a fantastic host, funny and all the things you would expect from an accomplished actress. I think my heart was pounding the entire time until they announced my category and another chef won. Frankly I think I might have passed out if they had actually said my name. It was endearing to see how the winner’s emotions ran the gamut when it came to speaking. Some were obviously humbled, others almost crying (that would have been me, given the opportunity) others so darn happy, and then there was the best chef winner - I didn’t have to get up there to cry, I cried in my seat during his entire speech. What a gifted person (Grant Achatz), I have the absolute greatest respect for him, for many reasons.

The ceremony was really fantastic. It was a great opportunity to see a lot of talented people in one place. Afterward we walked through the reception (lots of people, lots of great food) and then we headed down to Balthazar and had a late dinner. Very fun, some good champagne (a must!) and a good red burgundy (also a must).

The next night was an extraordinary experience. I am very lucky to have eaten a few times at Benoit in Paris, and once at Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo. Both of the restaurants are owned by Chef Alain Ducasse. I also have eaten a few times at his original restaurant in the Essex House Hotel. I have anxiously been waiting for him to open his new restaurant, called Devour, in the St. Regis hotel. We had a reservation for Monday evening. The food was incredible, the space beautiful, the service excellent. I was in heaven. I had foie gras for my first course, my sister had gnocchi for her first course which were so good I had to order some for myself, then I had sweetbreads and then pork tenderloin and pork belly. Followed by cheese and some incredible desserts. I was very happy to have the opportunity to meet Chef Ducasse after the meal and he took me out into the dining room and introduced me to Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz and Tim Zagat. What a memorable evening! I love the generosity and spirit of people in the restaurant business.

All I can say is, I hope all of you get nominated for a James Beard Award so you can have a great experience like this too.

Cindy Wolf

My Favorites

One of my favorite at home dinners is sautéed chicken breast, basmati rice and cucumber yogurt. I now get a chicken from one of my purveyors that is much better in flavor and texture than most chickens. It is called a smart chicken and is air chilled. If you can find this in the grocery store I highly suggest trying it. I buy a wonderful Greek yogurt and always Tilda basmati. I find when I am at home I want rustic and very seasonal food, things that may bring back memories of family, holidays, or trips that I have been on. I always have excellent cheese in the house, good extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and cider vinegar, kosher salt, a good pepper mill, Tabasco, Vermont butter, heavy cream, good coffee and espresso. When I cook at home I always buy the food that day, so I am getting whatever is freshest at the market. I also have a few herbs growing in my garden and have started tomato plants. I look forward to the first Early Girl Tomatoes and to my lavender flowering.

As a chef I am used to working with certain tools in the restaurant kitchen. Over the years I have stocked my home kitchen with some of those same tools so that I am comfortable cooking at home. Some of items are: all clad stainless steel pans, some heavy copper pans with stainless steel lining, heavy duty restaurant tongs ( I once did a cooking show for a national network and they had tongs that had a device on the end that would lock them closed, this would happen every time I wanted them to work, I don’t suggest that kind), stainless steel bowls of all sizes, good metal spoons, I collect metal spatulas and have all shapes and sizes, high heat spatula, regular plastic spatula, different strainers from plastic to metal, a small hand slicer, all clad measuring spoons and cups, sheet pans and a chinoise. These are just a few of the things I enjoy having at home. One of the great things about cooking is that all things used to be done by hand, so if you don’t have a machine (i.e. food processor, blender etc) you can get it done by hand.

My favorite "regular" foods are lamb, rabbit, cauliflower (especially with brown butter), roasted chicken with stuffing, a great salad with a mixture of tart and sweet greens, heirloom tomatoes, roasted beets, chevre, fresh English peas, fava beans, ( are these regular foods?) roasted sweet corn, and I really love excellent fresh crabmeat.

Thank you for the question.

Happy eating!

Cindy Wolf

On the Side

This is for Trish and Craig,

I lived part of my life in Elkhart, Indiana and I went to the University of Evansville. Your response did not include your email address so I can’t contact you directly. If you like, you can email the restaurant (info@charlestonrestaurant.com) and it will reach me.

This is for those of you who want to be a chef.

Get a job in the best kitchen you can find.

It’s quite simple. This is the business of experience. It isn’t easy. If you want easy, do something else. You have to pay your dues. What that means is, it’s best if you start as a dishwasher and move up from there. I would venture to say there isn’t a chef in this country that hasn’t either been a dishwasher, or had one walk out on them in the middle of service, leaving them to do the dishes themselves. You must know all the jobs in the kitchen to teach all the jobs in the kitchen (and that’s what a chef does, teach). From there, a prep cook or cold station (salads, cold apps, dessert plating) job for a period of time to work on knife skills, speed and execution and teamwork skills. Then move onto the hot line and move through all the hot stations. This could and should take years, depending on the restaurant and your own personal learning curve. You can not be impatient if you want to be excellent. You must figure out your own pathway and what will work best for you. Along the way, read as much as you can, eat as well as you can, and travel as much as you can.

Then, when you have a full understanding of what it is like to work in a kitchen, and how dedicated you need to be to it, and only then, should you go to culinary school. Read that one again (I am a chef not a writer). If you choose to go to school, make it the best one you can get into. I was fortunate to work for some talented people before I went to school and benefited from my education because of my prior work experience. Good luck to you and remember, work life is not like television, unless you are one of the few that are on it.

Bring It On

This has been an exciting week. Regular service, 2 wine dinners and a fight for foie gras.

The wine dinner on Monday was an Escoffier inspired menu. Frankly, it has been 21 years since I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. Over those 21 years I have made consommé maybe 5 times. I find it not to be the most popular thing on a menu. And something that takes that much effort to make really needs to sell. I think consommé is a beautiful thing when executed well and have never understood why guests don't go for it. So this week I made use of consommé twice by making a rabbit consommé, garnishing the bowl with diced torchon of foie gras, fresh black truffle from Perigord, and at the table snipping a rolled, hot crepe with beautiful old silver grape shears. The broth was poured tableside as well. This table side service is a dying art and one that I love. There is nothing better than something flambéed tableside by a talented waiter for a little excitement in the dining room.

The second use of the consommé was to do Oeufs en Gelee. I poached a quail egg, did a very fine julienne of the truffle and the green part of the leek (which I blanched), and did a brunoise of an excellent air chilled chicken that I slow roasted. Put this in a timbale and covered with rabbit aspic. I have to tell you, this kind of stuff I don’t do. I hate gelatin and never use it, but it does have its place. When I pulled this thing out of the mold I jumped up and down for joy, this was a tiny piece of art work. My sous chef said it looked like a window into a stream bed. The true fun in eating this piece is the melting of the poached egg when you break through the aspic and the capture of the perfume of the truffle.

The next course wasn’t as light. I did a whole roasted quail, head and feet on, in puff pastry, vol au vent, with a green grape and cognac sauce. These quail come from a farm in Virginia and are unbelievable. I cut the wings off the bird after I roasted them and made a quick (1 hour) reduction of the wings, with a good red wine and our chicken/veal stock reduction, finishing the sauce with raw cognac. I was very surprised by the natural sweetness of the sauce and pretty perfume the quail gave it, it's all because of the bird. Then they had Tournedos Henri the 4th. Cut portions from the center of the tenderloin, used a black angus (don’t use this very often anymore), and it was an outstanding piece of beef. Grilled on pickup to medium rare. This course was also done tableside. Put the grilled beef on a brioche crouton( Dale makes a mean brioche), put a fresh artichoke bottom on top of the beef, filled it with béarnaise and put all on a silver tray. Ah, but first coated the beef with a straight reduction sauce. Tray goes into the room, waiter put garnished beef on the plate and the sauce is poured in front of each guest. Did I tell you their cocktail time had a seafood display and a charcuterie display that consisted of Terrine of Duck, Pork and Foie Gras, a Galantine of Rabbit, Foie Gras and Perigord Truffle, and another terrine that had magret through the center and a large piece of truffle above it?

My pastry chef did individual Bavarois Clermont with Glaceed Chestnuts. It was a beautiful way to finish the meal. The table was garnished at dessert time with a fantastic pulled sugar piece that she did.

I loved doing this dinner, it stretched me as a chef. I am thankful that the host had the idea for the dinner and had the confidence in me to do what I wanted to with the idea. It was fun, and hard work to walk in the footstep of past chefs.

Les Chiens du Vin
~
Lundi 3 Mars, 2008

Hors d’oeuvres
Galantine de Lapin
Terrine de Foie Gras en chemise de Canard et Porc
Fruits de Mer en Sauces

Premier Plat
Oeufs en Gelée

Deuxième Plat
Consommé de Volaille garni de Foie Gras au Torchon et Truffes

Troisième Plat
Caille aux Raisins en Timbale

Quatrième Plat
Tournedos Henri IV

Cinquième Plat
Tête de Moine

Sixième Plat
Bavarois Clermont


Tonight is Burgundy night. I have tasted more in this region than any other thanks to my talented husband and I am in love with both. So tonight’s menu will follow, but no detail as I am about to embark on that journey. It is amazing to me how food and wine complete each other, like any good partnership, its all in the pairing.

Enjoy!

Thank goodness for Maryland farms

Hello!

First of all what a great time of the year. First you have Halloween, a fabulous time of the year when you can watch your share of scary movies, be creative and dress up, hopefully have a fantastic party and manage to guiltlessly eat some candy. The leaves are falling, pumpkins are carving and the landscape is changing. Then comes Thanksgiving. Now you have a feast to plan, guests to invite and thanking to do. Thank goodness for our amazing farmers. Thank goodness there are people out there that want to preserve our history, our culinary heritage, our nearly extinct heritage turkey.That person locally is David Smith at Springfield Farm. I can't wait until he walks in my backdoor at Charleston with those beautiful turkeys.

Imagine the smell as they roast in the oven.
See you there.
Chef

LET’S START A CONVERSATION ABOUT FOOD

This is my first blog entry. With it I would like to start a conversation about food. I would like the blog to connect me with people who have an interest in food and also give me the chance to answer any questions that I am able. Let me know what you think because now is the time to cook.

It's all right there at your local farmers market, food that is fresh and at its best, healthiest and brightest. We’re getting wonderful red beets, chiogga beets, and soon other varieties will be coming in. I was never a fan of beets but have become one now that I know you don't have to eat them cooked with eggs (as my Pennsylvania Dutch mother would have made them). There are 2 great ways to cook beets, slowly roasted (for hours) in the oven on a bed of kosher salt and wrapped in foil, or more quickly cooked in vinegar, sugar and a little water. The first being nice and sweet with the second being a wonderful contrast between sweet and sour that will absolutely wake you up when you taste them.

Right now I am doing a salad with local butter lettuce, a dressing made with an excellent extra virgin olive oil and local tarragon, a great piece of chèvre (called Crottin de Picandine from the Périgord region in France) and a mixture of local red beets and chiogga that have been pickled, and paper thin slices of local radishes. Good contrast from all the flavors and yet in harmony.

We are also getting local black raspberries. I couldn’t wait for this rare treat when I was a kid as my mother could nail a perfect black raspberry tart. We also used to eat them simply with a little cream poured over them. If there was a surplus she would make jam, which was nice to have on a cold December morning. Black raspberries are even harder to find now so if you see them pick them up right away.

We just finished the local asparagus (all of ours came from a farmer on the eastern shore) and man was it great!!! Frankly the best I have ever tasted; sweet, nutty and not a hint of the horseradishy flavor it can have if you buy it out of season.

My other favorite right now is baby squash and zucchini, many different varieties and their blossoms. For the blossoms, fried in a light beignet batter, and for the body of the squash - toss with a good extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and roasted in the oven. You can add your favorite fresh herbs to the squash (i.e. basil, mint, lavender, thyme or a little rosemary) and zucchini when it comes out of the oven. You can do the same thing and grill it as the squash likes a little smoke from the fire.

Frankly, I can’t wait to see what's coming in next week. And I am dreaming of the local stone fruit, particularly the white peaches and of course the wide variety of heirloom tomatoes. Let’s not forget about our local sweet corn and cantaloupes. Is it July yet?