”Thank you, Fred,” Anthony chirped, as he proceeded to lead a trek past miles of tubing, acres of vats and city blocks full of bottling and packaging lines.
Anthony put things back into perspective at the Miller Inn, a Bavarian beer hall where the tour ends and the tasting begins. Swiftly bringing trays of Pilsner glasses to the thirsty guests, he distributed samples of the beverage that Miller had wrought: rather watery, unexciting, acceptable and scrupulously clean American lager.
Those who claim that a seven-course banquet in Wisconsin is a six-pack and a bag of cheese curds have failed to sample the cuisine du nord coming from the kitchens of William Springer, executive chef at the posh American Club hotel and resort in Kohler.
Kohler Co., the giant plumbing concern, has spent the better part of this decade converting what had once been an immigrant workers` dormitory into a luxurious hotel and recreation area. Instead of looking overseas for his cuisine, chef Springer, 31, gathers his ingredients and inspiration from the countryside around him.
”Wisconsin actually has a lot of good things going for it,” Springer says. ”It all just has to be accentuated.”
Last summer, Springer-a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and a veteran hotel chef since his early 20s-created a banquet for visiting U.S. food industrialists during a promotion sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
Servers carried out one little Dairy State masterpiece after another:
Wisconsin cranberry and apple tart au gratin with a l`anglais sauce, baked Wisconsin quail, Wisconsin wild rice and smoked pheasant soup, Wisconsin veal carpaccio . . .
Green often talks about ”country elegance” as the goal for American Club restaurants, a process that apparently involves Springer and his staff exploring the countryside, sampling the food and then giving it a
sophisticated interpretation.
The method worked superbly in the Wisconsin apple and cranberry tart recipe, says the chef. ”We were up north looking at the cranberry bogs when we happened to stop in a diner that served something called `Mrs. Smith`s apple and cranberry pie.`
”I was with a couple of other people from the culinary staff, and we really liked it. We knew that River Wildlife (Kohler`s rustic hunting and fishing lodge) could serve a pie like that, but at the club we would have to make a more formal presentation.”
”So the pastry chef and I got to cooking in our kitchen, and we came up with individual tarts with apple fans and cranberries on top, complemented by the glaze of l`anglais sauce and served on little individual tart pastries.” Patrons of that Northwoods diner might not have recognized Springer`s version of Mrs. Smith`s pie, but the chef contends that Wisconsin residents and their vacationing visitors have become more sophisticated. Customers at the club`s Immigrant Room regularly order veal and sweatbreads Wisconsin, Northwoods duck, venison baden baden (featuring Wisconsin venison) and tournedos immigrant-low-fat and additive-free beef from the Kohler cattle herds crowned with lobster and truffles and served with bearnaise sauce.
That, too, is Wisconsin food, if only because a Wisconsin chef has dared to put it together using native ingredients and because Wisconsinites have been ordering it. At the very least, Springer and the other dedicated Wisconsin food people know how to make a traveling gourmand smile without forcing that person to simply say ”cheese.”
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The following recipes for beer-battered walleye and cream of potato soup are adpated from ”A Taste of the Northwoods,” a cookbook from the North Star Lodge in Star Lake, Wis.
BEER-BATTERED WALLEYED PIKE
About 10 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Frying time: 5 to 6 minutes
5 pounds walleyed pike fillets
Cooking oil for deep-frying
1 cup flour
1 cup buttermilk baking mix (such as Bisquick)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 egg
1 3/4 cups beer
1. Rinse fillets; pat dry with paper towel. Heat enough oil for deep-frying in deep-fryer or heavy skillet to 350 degrees.
2. Put flour in shallow dish; reserve. In a separate shallow bowl, mix baking mix, pepper, paprika, egg and beer until mixture is consistency of thin pancake batter.
3. Dip fillets in flour and shake off excess. Dip fillets, one at a time, in batter, letting excess drip back into bowl.
4. Deep-fry fillets, a few at a time, until crisp and golden, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on size of pieces. Drain on paper towel. Serve hot.
Note: Batter should be used promptly. If it starts to thicken, thin with additional beer.
CREAM OF POTATO AND BACON SOUP
Six to eight servings
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
8 strips bacon, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 quarts chicken stock or 2 quarts water with chicken base or bouillon added
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
8 medium potatoes, about 2 1/2 pounds, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups milk or whipping cream, see note
1. Cook bacon in large saucepan until crisp. Add onion and cook until lightly browned. Drain off and discard fat. Add remaining ingredients, except milk or cream. Simmer over low heat 1 hour.
2. To serve, stir in milk or cream. Cook until heated through. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Note: If you are watching calories, this soup also tastes good without the milk or cream.
The following two recipes come from chef Hans Lenzlinger at the New Glarus Hotel. The first recipe is for knopfli, which are tiny dumplings and probably the most popular form of pasta in German-speaking Switzerland, says Lenzlinger.
KNOPFLI
(DUMPLINGS)
Six servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Standing time: 30 minutes
2 eggs
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon each: salt, nutmeg, pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
3 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup grated Swiss cheese
1. Mix the eggs with 1 cup cold water in small bowl. Add salt, nutmeg, pepper and parsley. Stir egg mixture gradually into the flour in a mixing bowl, beating until smooth and batter is thick. Let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Press dough through a metal colander with a rubber spatula into boiling water, forming little dumplings. Simmer until knopfli rise to the surface and are cooked through, then remove with a slotted spoon. Drain them and place on a hot serving dish.
3. To serve, pour melted butter over knopfli, sprinkle with cheese and toss with a fork.
VEAL GESCHNETZLETS
Four servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
1 1/2 pounds veal cutlets
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon each: salt, pepper, paprika
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1. Trim the meat of all fat and gristle. Cut against the grain into strips 1/4- to 1/2-inch wide and 1-inch long. Mix flour, salt, pepper and paprika in small bowl.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion; cook until soft and golden, about 3 minutes. Add veal; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the veal; cook 1 minute. Stir in the wine and sour cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to just below the boiling point, about 5 minutes. Do not boil. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with dumplings.
The next recipe was adapted from the American Club in Kohler, Wis., where chef William Springer presides:
WISCONSIN CRANBERRY AND APPLE TART AU GRATIN WITH CUSTARD SAUCE
Six servings
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Baking time: 14 to 17 minutes
Custard sauce:
8 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur
1 quart whole milk
1/2 fresh vanilla bean
Tart:
One 9- by- 14- by – 1/8-inch frozen puff pastry sheet or 12 ounces freshly made puff pastry rolled to 1/8-inch thickness
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk
3 Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh whole cranberries (if using frozen cranberries, squeeze out excess moisture)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 ounces Wisconsin sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1. For sauce, beat egg yolks, sugar and Grand Marnier in stainless steel bowl until frothy. Heat milk to boil in saucepan; add vanilla bean, simmer 2 minutes. Whisk in egg yolk mixture. Cook, stirring constantly with wooden spoon until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil. Immediately strain mixture through fine sieve into large bowl. Cool completely.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. For tart, cut puff pastry into 6 even oval shapes, about 6 inches long and 3 inches wide. (Use a thin piece of cardboard to make an oval template to use as a guide to ensure evenness of ovals.) Put onto nonstick or lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with egg-milk mixture.
3. Peel and core apples; cut in halves. Slice each half crosswise as thinly as possible and fan 1/2 apple out atop each pastry oval, centering apple on pastry and leaving a 1/2-inch border.
4. Melt apricot presrves and water together in a small saucepan. Strain through fine sieve. Brush mixture over each pastry dessert.
5. Bake until puff pastry is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and put cranberries on top of apples. Then sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and shredded cheese. Bake an additional 2 to 5 minutes, just until cheese is melted. Cool slightly on rack.
6. To serve, pour a pool of cooled sauce in center of large serving plate. Place an apple pastry in center of sauce. Garnish with fresh mint and orange slice.
