As Bastille Day was approaching, members of the Chicago Vatel Club were asked to look homeward and reflect on what they missed most in a culinary sense about their native country. They also were asked what had changed most for them as cooks since they arrived in the United States.
The sentiment expressed by Fernand Gutierrez, executive chef at the Ritz- Carlton hotel and president of the club, seemed to sum up the group attitude. ”What I miss most,” he said, ”is basic cooking, simple foods like blood sausage.”
”…And tripe and pigs` feet and saucisson,” continued Jean Claude Poilevey of Jean Claude restaurant. ”Here you can eat medallions of veal every day, but you can`t go out on the spur of the moment for tete de veau
(calf`s head) and a bottle of local wine.”
Not surprisingly, therefore, recipes the chefs cited tended to be well-loved, homey dishes from the regions of France where they grew up.
Chef Poilevey grew up in southern Burgundy, where ”my parents raised rabbits to feed the family.” And with the vineyards of Beaujolais and Macon nearby, cooking with wine was second nature.
Bernard Cretier, chef-owner of Le Vichyssois, recalled a simple cake he ate each summer as a child. ”There are a lot of cherry trees around Vichy,” he said, ”so from May through mid-August you might get milliard (cherry cake) for dessert any night. At home, cooks left the pits in the cherries for flavor, but not in restaurants.”
Jean Joho also spoke of the magnificent fruit harvested in his native Alsace and proposed an apple tart that he says goes well with a glass of spicy gewurztraminer wine.
Charles Tual, executive chef of the Chicago Club, grew up in coastal Brittany and still enjoys the hearty stews and chowders of the region. Everyday fare there, they contain such a profusion of fish and shellfish that they become luxury items elsewhere.
Similarly, when Carlton Club chef Michael Maloiseau thinks of his birthplace, Tours in the Loire Valley (”the garden of France”), he recalls feasting on forest mushrooms each spring and fall. Tours also claims the flavorful rillette (shredded and potted pork, goose or duck spread over toast) as a native dish.
Near the headwaters of the Loire, in Roanne, Chef Jean Banchet, founder of Le Francais in Wheeling, reveled in the summertime combination of salmon and sorrel. It is a dish made world-famous by his friends, the brothers Troisgros, whose restaurant is directly across the street from the train station of that city.
As for what has changed most in the United States, the chefs querried all spoke of the marked increase in the availability of quality speciality ingredients and greater curiosity on the part of their American customers.
”When I came, nearly 20 years ago,” observed chef Cretier, ”90 percent of the orders were for meat. Now people are not as much scared to try something new. But what`s sad is there is no respect for the seasons. They want strawberries and oysters all year round. These things are always better in their natural seasons.
”In France, people anticipate the first asparagus. It`s no fun to have them all the time.”
BERNARD CRETIER`S CHERRY CAKE
(MILLIARD)
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 45 to 60 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Make this cake in late spring or early summer when the cherries are at their best. Chef Cretier leaves the pits in the cherries for better flavor but they can be removed before baking if desired.
4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 pinch salt
1 1/2pounds small ripe cherries, stems removed, unpitted
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 10-inch flan dish or tart pan. Rinse cherries; pat dry.
2. Whisk eggs and sugar together in large bowl. Whisk in flour, milk, butter and salt just until smooth. Do not overbeat. Spread cherries across bottom of prepared dish. Pour batter over cherries..
3. Bake until top is puffed and brown and wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool on wire rack. Serve cold.
CHARLES TUAL`S BRITTANY FISH STEW
(COTRIADE PERROSIENNE)
Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
4 onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup butter
4 pounds fish heads and trimmings
3 quarts water
1 cup dry white wine, such as Muscadet
1/4 cup Calvados (apple brandy)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bouquet garni (2 sprigs parsley, 1 bay leaf tied, 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme and 10 black peppercorns together in cheesecloth)
Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 pinch saffron threads
3 pounds of assorted fish fillets, such as flounder, monkfish, eel
1 pound cleaned, debearded mussels
6 jumbo shrimp or langoustines
1. Cook and stir carrots, 2 onions and 1 clove garlic in butter in 6-quart dutch oven or stockpot until soft, 7 to 10 minutes. Add fish heads and trimmings. Cook, covered, over medium heat 10 minutes. Add water, wine, Calvados, tomato paste and bouquet garni. Heat to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, skimming off surface scum, 30 minutes.
2. Strain stock through fine sieve. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne. (Recipe may be prepared ahead to this point. Refrigerate stock up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month.)
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put remaining 2 onions and 1 clove garlic in 6-quart dutch oven or casserole. Add potatoes, parsley, thyme, saffron and enough stock to cover fish, 8 to 10 cups. Heat to boil; reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are just-tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Add fish fillets; heat to simmer. Add mussels and shrimp. Bake, covered, until fish almost flakes, about 15 minutes. Serve hot with garlic bread.
MICHEL MALOISEAU`S POTTED PORK AND RABBIT
(RILLETTES DE TOURS)
Preparation time: 30 to 40 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours
Yield: About 8 cups
2 pounds pork tenderloin, diced
1 1/2pounds pork fat, diced
1 fresh rabbit, boned, meat diced
1 bouquet garni (2 sprigs parsley, 1 bay leaf tied, 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme and 10 black peppercorns together in cheesecloth)
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Put pork, pork fat, rabbit, bouquet garni, salt and pepper in large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add enough boiling water to cover meats by 3/4.
2. Simmer mixture over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until water has evaporated and meats are nicely tender and browned, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
3. Strain meat in colander set over large bowl. Reserve liquid. Working with about 2 cups of the meat a time and using 2 large forks, tear into fine shreds in bottom of large bowl. When all mea is shredded add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer meat to large terrine or small jars. Pour reserved liquid over meat, cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
4. Serve slightly chilled with country-style French bread and cornichons
(tiny pickles).
JEAN JOHO`S APPLE TART ALSACE-STYLE
(ACPFELKUECHE)
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Baking time: 50 to 55 minutes
Yield: One 12-inch tart
Dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons cold water
Fruit:
5 medium apples, about 2 1/4 pounds, see note
2 tablespoons sugar
Topping:
2 eggs
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup each: milk, whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. For dough, mix flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle water over mixture; toss with fork until dough gathers into ball. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to fit an 11- or 12-inch tart pan. Fit dough into pan, pressing carefully into edges. Trim off excess and pierce bottom with a fork. Chill while preparing fruit.
3. Peel apples; cut into 4 pieces (8 if using large apples); remove core. Make incisions in each piece to facilitate cooking. Arrange apple pieces over crust. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over apples. Bake until apples are cooked through and crust is light brown, about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, for topping, whisk together beat eggs and 6 tablespoons sugar in small bowl. Slowly whisk in milk and cream, then vanilla.
5. Pour topping over cooked apples, making sure it is evenly distributed. (If using an 11-inch tart pan, all of the topping may not fit in the pan.)
Return tart to oven; bake until topping has set, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove tart from oven and, if desired, sprinkle on additional sugar. Cool on wire rack. Serve at room temperature with an Alsatian gewurztraminer.
Note: Chef Joho also suggests using pears, plums or cherries instead of apples. –
