Rolling Up a Fatty

If there is one complaint about our menu that I am surprised that I never hear it's the lack of an actual chicken dish. Sure we have our Chicken Andouille Sausage Corndogs, but that is really more of an appetizer, though many make a meal out of them. Most restaurants feature an obligatory version or two that are usually more of an afterthought in order to cover all bases; the creativity is instead found in the beef, lamb and fish entrees.

Even I hesitated after the initial menu was laid down, and again at each revision, but I still stand by our unconventional format - not because the menu doesn't warrant it, but in order to allow myself infinite variations to present as specials.

Chicken is a blank slate - perhaps not the independent flavor that its ancestors or relatives have, but it is its neutrality that allows it to shine with the right ingredients. Now I am able to use chicken as a fulcrum to balance between fall and winter dishes to create something that is rich and hearty, yet light on the palate.

With such great local pears available I initially thought of pairing them with cheese along with dried fruit and nuts (kind of like what you would find on a cheese plate), so I pounded out fat chicken breasts into thin cutlets and stuffed them with roasted Bosc pears, dried currants and chopped pecans. Once they were rolled up, I breaded them with Japanese breadcrumbs and fried them to order.

For the sauce I went with Gorgonzola, a mild blue cheese, pureed with half and half and corn starch to thicken it and give it that rich texture of cream without all of the heaviness. As another seasonal touch I lightly roasted spaghetti squash just enough to cull its strands and form pancakes that were dredged in rice flour and pan-fried until crispy and golden brown. Since the dish had a lot of ingredients that leaned towards the sweet side I finished it with a quick braise of local, bitter greens that consisted of kale, mustard and collard greens, as well as chard.

The funny thing about these entries is that I tend to purposely paint myself into a corner as a personal challenge to see if I can work my way out. It's really just an extension of how we chefs strive to overcome our daily challenges despite any obstacles.

Last week I stated that all drinks this month were going to feature apple as the main ingredient not only to prelude next week's drink special (he, he!), but to propel my mixology skills further and come up with something completely different.

Sure, sometimes I may fail, just like when you push the limits of anything, but then there are the times like these when you stumble onto something great!

After the great success of the fig infused rum in the previous Fig Mai Tai special I used the same liquour in combination with some fresh apple juice from our brunch menu and a splash of club soda (never underestimate the power of seltzer) to shape this fall treat!

Mistakes are bound to happen; it is the sweet surprise when they happen for the better!

With Love,

Cheffrey

An Apple a Day

Autumn is a very nostalgic time for me: the leaves have changed and are clattering in the streets; the crisp, chilly air while the sun is still shining, and even hopes of seeing another harvest moon. Despite working on this past Halloween (and every other one that I can remember) I still appreciate the enchantment that it brings. As a kid I all I ever thought about was the candy that I would get, but now as a chef all I think about is the bounty that the season will bring... and it's funny how those two emotions now feel the same.

One of the many great parts of living in this area this time of year is the abundance of our state fruit, the apple. Despite haunting memories of bobbing for apples (the waterboarding of Halloween tradition), the apple remains one of my favorite fruits, whose family spans from tart to sweet with the ability to accent every course.

The process for this week's special went like a word association game:

I started with the idea of combining apple and fennel since they have accenting flavors and great textures, then I used those flavors with other ingredients that they compliment - fennel goes great with fish and seafood, and green apple gives a bright acidity that pairs well with spices, and they both blend well with earthy ingredients.

I started with a broth made of fresh Alaskan halibut bones and fennel, not too fishy and not too light, along with ginger, star anise and a touch of soy sauce. While the stock was simmering I cooked pearled barley with apple cider and a splash of heavy cream for body. I emphasized the apple and fennel in the broth with a fresh shaved salad of each on top, along with king crab, seared scallops and shrimp, but there was an underlying treat to this dish as well:

The Ozette potato.

Though it may sound like some new fancy hybrid, it is actually the only potato that has come here directly from South America (the origin of all potatoes) in 1791, where all other varieties came to North America via Europe first, thus being a highly unique ingredient that is distinctly from our region, a knobby gem of the slow food movement here in Seattle. With this year being the first time that this tuber is available on a limited commercial basis, I jumped at the chance to use it in one of my dishes. Some say it's earthy, I say it's minerally, but we all agree that it's flavor is distinct.

Keeping with the apple theme I have decided to feature it as our cocktail for the entire month of November!I started with a take on a popular cocktail that is loved by all, though few would admit it - the Appletini.

For this version, I wanted to reflect on the ghosts of Halloween past, if you will, and offer a familiar treat with a combination of apple vodka, apple pucker, butterscotch schnapps and a touch of my personal recipe of caramel sauce on the rim.

A touch of home, a touch of sweetness, a touch of comfort.

With Love,

Cheffrey

Death Row Menu

Many people ask me what my favorite food is. As a chef I have been fortunate enough to taste some of the best ingredients that you can find in this world. I've had heaping spoonfuls of Beluga caviar, triple-seared Kobe beef and beloved foie gras (just to name a few) prepared at some of the greatest restaurants in this country, if not the world.

The question always reminds me of the last meal on death row game where you pick the menu perfect enough to die happy afterwards. My answer may surprise you since even after all of my travels and culinary conquests, my menu is simple: Alaskan King Crab Legs with Drawn Butter, Prime Rib (roasted whole) with Sauteed Broccolini, and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Classy, huh?

But since I was asked what my one favorite food is, it would hands down be the King Crab. Why? Maybe it was growing up in the Midwest back when if tuna was served, it was cooked more than just seared, where family trips to Florida with my mom and step-dad broadened my culinary horizons with fresh fish and seafood. I remember seeing my first live shrimp jumping around on the docks, deep sea fishing with mom "Chumming" over the side of the boat, and of course, endless buffet lines piled high with displaced Alaskan King Crab Legs. My mother and I still believe to this day that we put at least one restaurant out of business due to their "All You Can Eat King Crab" nights...

Due to a drop in prices for king crabs I was able to not only use it in this week's special, but to also do a take on my Death Row Meal to offer our first (and affordable) Surf 'n' Turf:

Right away I knew I wanted to create a variation of Steak Oscar, which is filet mignon topped with crabmeat, asparagus and bearnaise. Instead of using the dry and costly tenderloin I went with the second most tender cut of beef - the flat iron steak. Once grilled to medium rare I topped it with an "au gratin" of crab, half and half, shallots, garlic, butter, Parmesan and white wine before lightly coloring in the oven. To finish the plate I went with a combination of two traditional steakhouse accompaniments: mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, along with a preparation of a red bell pepper jelly with balsamic vinegar that balances the dish by cutting through the richness of the au gratin.

If Alaskan King crab is my favorite food, then I must include my favorite spirit in this week's cocktail special as well: bourbon. Bourbon may not be what I grew up on, but I sure grew up around it in the suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky and I never miss an opportunity to play with it!

Despite mixing bourbon with anything other than water being blasphemy in my family (a trait even my NYC born wife has taken to) even I stray from the pack from time to time to try out new combination of flavors.

This time I went with a combination of bourbon and hibiscus water with a splash of simple syrup, Tuaca Italian Liqueur, club soda and a dash of Pechaud's bitters, but instead giving it some dignified name I decided to give it something more silly in light of the upcoming Halloween festivities, something like "the Scarecrow".

Fortunately this won't be out last meal together, so see me here next week for more great tastes!

With Love,

Cheffrey

Hamming it Up: The Duality of Cooking

With a title like that I'll try to keep the puns to a minimum, but I'm not going to make any promises... ;)

When the seasons change like this, it isn't that I just have different ingredients to use but the way in which I use them also changes. For instance, this summer you saw a lighter style of cooking from me: roasted meat and fish, broths instead of sauces and pan fried pork accompanied with salads, whereas my future winter dishes will be comprised of deep flavors developed by braising and rich sauces. My goal as a chef is to not only use the available ingredients, but also cooking techniques that relate them to the current season.

Life isn't always like that, though; some people still love hot soup no matter what the temperature is outside, just like the way that mom never changed her pot roast recipe to adjust for the season. It isn't a matter of rhyme or reason, it is simply what tastes good. It is because of this duality of cooking that I chose to showcase two contrasting specials: and entree born of necessity, and a cocktail born of desire.

The art of making ham (and yes, I do mean art) originally came about because back in the day it was a way of preserving the meat for the cold months without refrigeration, but it has become an integral part of our everyday lifestyle as are pickles, cheese, ketchup and jams. I wanted to re-create the traditional cooking of a ham that is commonly found in the South, where a fully cooked ham is tenderized by slow roasting in the oven with Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, or even root beer.

I couldn't be the chef that I am and simply buy a pre-made ham... you should know me better than that by now, but I also wanted to work outside of the box a little to make a "boneless ham" by using the front quarters instead of the typical hindquarters, so I butchered and tied sections of meat that were brined in a solution of allspice, cinnamon, brown sugar and curing salt for two days before being slow cooked over applewood logs for three hours, during which I basted the hams every half hour with a variation of my step-father's family recipe known as "Lamb's Ham", which consists of a glaze of Dijon mustard, brown sugar and Indonesian sweet soy sauce (used in place of molasses). And that was just my day off!!

Since the meat was already tender after the slow roasting I had to reproduce the soda cooking technique, so I made a sauce by not only simmering a mild beef stock and typical root beer, but I also added elements that would help fortify/intensify the natural root beer flavor, such as: burdock root, ginger, vanilla bean, prunes and citrus zests. The flavor profile also extends to a quick saute of roasted fennel and cannellini beans simmered with a touch of star anise for that licorice note, and I finished the dish with a light foam of the sauce to re-create the "head" that we all associate with good root beer.

This weeks drink special would seem more fitting in warmer climates, but as I stated above, a familiar taste is always more appreciated.

This one took some time and care to prepare because I have been marinating dried black mission figs in white rum for a few weeks now. The result was a dark and flavorful liqueur that reminded me of Meyer's Rum, which lead me to the idea to use it in place of the white and spiced rums that make a typical Mai Tai. Secondly, in order for us to make it traditionally I needed Orgeat Syrup, a sweet syrup made with almonds, but since it can be difficult to find, and when you do it's usually filled with more high fructose corn syrup than anything else, I chose to make that by hand as well.

Not only does this cocktail take its cue from last week's entree special, but it gives yin to the ham's yang!

With Love,

Cheffrey

Cruisin'

This past Sunday my wife, Anna and I took a road trip to Port Angeles for their Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival. We gorged ourselves on crab bisque, crab pizza, fresh oysters, grilled bacon-wrapped scallops, and even a crab and bechamel pastry. If you haven't yet experienced this yourself, I highly recommend that you secure it in your calender for next year NOW.

To be honest, the festival was only half of the experience for me. After 9 years of living in New York City without the need for a car has led me to a great appreciation for a road trip, and what a drive it was. From highways to ferries, to state roads and towns, the foliage is the same. Autumn is upon us, and even though I've had this dish in mind for a few weeks, there is no better time for it than now.

The main component of this dish is composed of a filling made by stewing dried mission figs with red wine and balsamic vinegar that is then pureed and stuffed into a crescent-shaped pasta known as agnolotti. While the pasta cooks I brown butter in a saute pan that I also use to warm strands of pulled duck confit and chervil, a subtle herb that is like a cross between parsley and tarragon that gives the dish a light and fresh licorice note. When the dumplings are done they are dumped into the pan along with a lilttle of the cooking water to help give body to the sauce. Once seasoned and plated I finished off the dish with a healthy shaving of Manchego, an aged sheep's milk cheese from Spain that has a sharp, nutty flavor that complements the fig and the brown butter sauce.

For this week's cocktail special I wanted to showcase one of our house-crafted liqueurs, limoncello, which I personally infused and bottled over the summer to add to our dessert drink list. I have used it as a base for cocktails before and I am always looking for new ways to integrate it, so why not create a simple, refreshing Limoncello Sour.

This drink actually pairs very well with the Fig Agnolotti special because it has the citrus from the limoncello to balance out the richness of the brown butter and the duck confit, but is light enough to allow the rest of the dish's flavors to come through.

But don't take my word for it... try them both for yourself!

With Love,

Cheffrey

Tribute

This week I want to start out by saying goodbye to a dear friend.

For 68 years Gourmet magazine has offered the insights of the world to its readers, bringing to their homes exotic sights and flavors well before most were able to travel and see them for themselves.

Sure, it may not have been as smart or as good looking as younger sister mag Bon Appetit, but as the nation's longest running culinary magazine it has inspired countless home cooks and chefs alike, a legacy in and of itself.

So as a tribute to Gourmet I have chosen a cocktail featured in the "Gourmet's Favorite Cocktails" section on their website, which showcases the best cocktails that they have published since their inception, categorized by decade! Check it out while you can!

With a lot to choose from (and more to appear as specials later on) I settled on a simple yet delicious cocktail from the 1970's: a combination of champagne and Lillet, a French Aperitif comprised of a blend of 85% white wine and 15% citrus liqueurs, garnished with a healthy twist of orange.

To me, no drink pays respect like a glass of bubbly, and to raise a drink that comes from the source of inspiration is the ultimate tribute.

Cheers to you, old friend!


As for the dinner special, I came up with a dish worthy of any food magazine's cover:

Keeping with my earlier promise, I am continuing my quest to present dishes that embody the seasonal transition by combining the light attributes of summer with the earthiness of autumn, and this one sure fits the bill.

First, I slowly smoked chicken thighs with applewood until the meat is a beautiful, dark amber that I rolled with chevre goat cheese as a filling for thin crepes made with parsley, chives, thyme and rosemary.

Then, for a sauce I shaved the kernels of fresh, local corn that I blended with the rich corn stock made from the cobs. Once strained and thickened with Agar Agar (a vegetarian alternative to gelatin that I also use for my "Ding Dong" dessert), this sauce has an amazing velvety texture that packs an unbelievable punch of pure corn flavor!

For the finishing touch, I topped the crepes with a mound of local lobster mushrooms that I sauteed simply in butter and chives to allow their flavors to shine.

This is not the greatest dish in the world, this is just a tribute ;)

With Love,

Cheffrey

A Taste of Home

I'd be lying if I said that I've had a hard time dreaming up specials lately. Truth be told: I have enough completed dishes to get me through the next month, and that doesn't even include ideas based on those wonderful "blips" of produce that quickly surface in the market (Lobster Mushrooms anyone??). So why the long list? It is the inspiration of that first chilly day, where the leaves turn crisp and jingle in the breeze and when the bounty of produce begins to peak; it is in fact my favorite time of year.

This is the time of the year where we get to view another side of my style of cooking - rich and bold flavors mingling with familiar ingredients to impart the fundamental sense of home; not just my home, and not just your home, but any home. With years of living in different areas of this great country and with its many influences I have found that, though the regions and the people differ, the soul of the food remains the same, and with that thought in mind, I came up with this:

I started the dish by sauteing large pieces of rockfish, which I love for it's almost shrimp/lobster texture while still staying flaky, like a fish should. Next I wanted to combine something traditionally American with what is unconventionally American, so I made a base of roasted sugar pie pumpkins pureed with garlic, onions and a touch of allspice and blended it with red Thai curry paste and some coconut milk for richness.

To finish the dish I went with a Guamanian preparation of pickled papaya that I used to form a salad along with red bell pepper, scallion, jujube (a.k.a. Chinese date) and fresh cilantro to offset the lusciousness of the pumpkin curry, and topped it all off with toasted papaya and pumpkin seeds for even more crunch and flavor.

~ ~ ~

Once I had this week's special finalized, I knew that I had to come up with a cocktail that is also both conventional and unconventional, and then it struck me.

No cocktail has been more prevalent in America in the last decade than the ubiquitous Cosmopolitan, a blend of cranberry juice, lime juice, vodka and triple sec. So I replaced the lime juice and triple sec for lychee nectar, which not only rearranged the whole characteristic of the drink, but actually formulated a cocktail to pair with my special!!

Try them seperate or taste them together, either way you'll feel right at home.

With Love,

Cheffrey

The 25th Hour

Last week I snuck away for a little vacation to go back home for my brother's wedding. Sorry for not telling you before, but when people know that the chef is away they tend to expect the quality of food to go down, and when you already have negative expectations, they usually come true for you.

Obviously southern Indiana isn't an ideal place to summer for a week, but I had other matters to attend to, the biggest of which was the arduous task of making the wedding cake.

Fear not dear reader, I have done this before, even at my own wedding, and I hate to say it - this one came out better. With the requested kelly green ribbons, fleur-de-lis molded fondant and the fresh green rose topper this cake sure came out sharp!!

The bad side of the trip was the return; not that I didn't want to leave but because my wife and I had to go through Atlanta, GA to get here, and since they had more rain in 12 hours than we get here in December and January COMBINED, we had to leave Louisville at 2 am (Seattle time) just to get here in time for me to start work today. Now that's dedication!! Lucky for me, I already had this week's special mapped out.

The foundation of this dish starts with purslane, considered a weed here in the US but is now being cultivated by local farms that has a herbal, slightly sour flavor that makes an amazing puree when I blend it with shallots, garlic and cream.

As I've stated before I am now officially moving into fall flavors, so I continued building another layer of flavor for this dish with a light saute of sliced fingerling potatoes, baby fennel, bacon, thyme and scallions to showcase some earthy components of fall.

To top it all off I pounded portions of boneless lamb and cooked them sous vide to perfect medium rare and tender medallions which I dusted with a fine mixture of ground fennel seeds, black pepper and coriander.

During our layover at my mother's house last night she made us a favorite cocktail of a friend of her's - the French Martini - a blend of vodka, pineapple juice and Chambord to ease our traveling woes, which reminded me about a new type of flavored vodka that has hit our restaurant's shelves: Effen Black Cherry (as in "This effen situation sucks!"). So I thought that it would be fitting to merge the two into one great cocktail!

So I would like to dedicate this drink to my brother Craig and his new bride Heather: may your lives be sweet, together and forever.

With Love,

Cheffrey




























and cheers to the new bride and groom!!!