DESSERT IS served. It`s another spectacular presentation. The guests applaud spontaneously, and the smiling hostess says, ”Now I`d like you to meet my chef.”
For most of us, this scenario could only unfold in a culinary version of the movie ”Field of Dreams.”
So, in a dreamy state of mind, we wished upon a Michelin star, and magically a real chef appeared in not one but two places.
In the first, the tiny kitchen of a Gold Coast studio apartment, she produced a glamorous weekend lunch for 12.
In the second, an elegant home on the North Shore, she prepared a five-course dinner-party menu. It consisted of a series of show-stopping dishes with the style and elegance the guests might find if they were celebrating instead in the Dining Room restaurant of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel downtown.
That`s no coincidence. Our dream chef, Sarah Stegner, is the chef of the Dining Room. Only 25, she was appointed to the job in May after 5 1/2 years of training under executive chef Fernand Gutierrez. ”My job is mostly coming up with ideas,” she says modestly, ”creating new dishes that fit the Dining Room`s French style and reflect what`s going on in cooking and in the marketplace.”
That`s what she did for us. She crafted the two menus for the two divergent settings and prepared the dishes for our camera. Unfortunately, her services don`t come with them, nor are her recipes for the novice cook. They require time and skill to execute, though not a brigade of chefs. So choose a menu or pick a dish or two and let`s get busy!
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A WEEKEND LUNCH FOR 12
MARINATED NEW ZEALAND GREEN-LIP MUSSELS
LENTIL SOUP
SALMON WRAPPED IN PHYLLO WITH WILD MUSHROOMS
BABY CHICKEN WITH WILD RICE AND CRANBERRY SALAD
WINE: CHARDONNAY OR PINOT NOIR, OR BOTH
PEARS POACHED IN WINE
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Sarah Stegner steps into the narrow Pullman kitchen, perhaps four by eight feet in size, and utters a sigh of recognition.
”I lived in a studio for four years,” she says. ”You`ve really got to plan ahead to entertain out of a kitchen like this.”
The challenge is considerable. Not dinner for two, but a buffet for 12 suitable for a long weekend lunch with friends.
She studies the scene, comments favorably on the hostess` Mexican clay pots, bowls and plates. Two tiny frying pans, however, along with the small oven and the lack of a roasting pan pose potential problems. She asks about the availability of a cutting board and serving utensils, checks the broiler and pronounces a verdict:
”It seems like a workable kitchen.”
Then she repeats, almost to herself, ”Think ahead.”
Here are some thoughts-advice, actually-from chef Stegner:
– There`s no ventilation, so she won`t saute the chicken, which might produce smoke and lingering odors. ”I`ve set off more than one smoke alarm,” she says.
– She wants to use larger pots and pans but checks to see if they will fit in the oven or on the stove. A large frying pan will allow her to saute the mushrooms and salmon (at a below-smoking temperature) more easily but, she reminds herself, will take up so much space on the small stove that she would be unable to use any other burners at the same time.
– The chef considers using a disposable aluminum-foil pan. ”It`s good for tossing salads and storage too,” she says. To save limited counter space, she proposes to place her cutting board over the sink.
– ”With storage space so limited,” she adds, ”think about where you are going to store whatever food you plan to make ahead. Fall weather can help you out. It may be cold enough to use window ledges or the fire escape” as temporary storage space for food and beverages.
– She does a count of plates, utensils and glasses. ”Mix-and-match is fine for this type of meal. You want enough of everything so you won`t have to stop the party and clean up.”
– ”Before you start cooking, think of what you are going to serve the food in and where you will display it.”
”During the event,” she advises, ”it is very important to have as little as possible distract you from the act of cooking. If you are a shy cook, get over it. People tend to gravitate to the kitchen, and they`ll want to come in anyway just to talk to you. But you have to take charge. You can`t move around easily, so appoint someone to handle drinks, let others collect plates and platters. Part of the charm of a meal like this is its informality. You`re a group, and you`re sharing this together.
”My approach is to get everything ready and to premeasure, then do a dish quickly when the time comes. Otherwise the interruptions will throw you off and the cooking will take much longer. In a situation like this, I won`t do more than maybe one dish I haven`t tried before. Also, I need a clean work space, and I hate cleaning up, so I make myself clean up as I go along.”
”When friends come, they expect more than a bowl of pasta. What I cook doesn`t have to be difficult, but it shouldn`t be something they can find everywhere. For a group, buffet service is easier. If you plate the food with no place to hold it ready, the first people will be done eating before you serve the last. But even if it`s buffet, you don`t have to serve everything all at once. I`d serve the mussels right away, put out the salmon as soon as it`s cooked, then serve the rest of it.
”Food that you can serve at room temperature makes sense; so does having a substantial salad or extra vegetables in case someone doesn`t eat meat. At home, just like at the restaurant, I want to serve seasonal food, I want the ingredients to have distinct colors, shapes and textures. But I don`t have all those hands to help me, so I try to pick recipes that can be done-or mostly done-ahead. The salmon is the only dish here that requires last-minute cooking.
Finally, she insists, be flexible. ”You`ll need to be. A party like this cannot be precisely executed. Somewhere along the line you`ll have to improvise.”
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A FALL DINNER PARTY FOR EIGHT
CORN AND DUCK SOUP
LOBSTER SOUFFLE WITH A CAVIAR RELISH
WINE: CHAMPAGNE
VENISON LOIN WITH CARAMELIZED VEGETABLES AND RED-ONION COMPOTE
WINE: RED RHONE SUCH AS COTE ROTIE
ASSORTED LETTUCES WITH GOAT CHEESE, BASIL AND SAUTEED CROUTONS
CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY BRULEE TARTE WITH FRUIT SORBET
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This setting and menu required far less concern about logistics. Chef Stegner`s concerns here were directed to the distinctiveness of individual dishes, making sure the meal would satisfy the guests without overwhelming them and allowing the hostess-cook the flexibility to enjoy her own party.
”A sit-down dinner focuses attention on the food,” the chef observed.
”If you spend the money and time to prepare something special, you want it to be noticed and appreciated. So I choose items that suggest celebration-like lobster and caviar-to help establish a festive circumstance. I plan five courses because that`s more than you would serve to the family, but still not overwhelming.
”I want a fish and a meat, and you can`t leave out dessert. I like to serve salad, but what type and when I serve it depends on the rest of the menu. Here I am starting with a soup to stimulate the appetite. It`s simple-all you taste is the duck and corn-and not too heavy.
”A cook working alone can do this meal, but allow ample time for preparation or you won`t have any fun. You do need to spend time in the kitchen, though, and it would ease the strain and make for a better-paced meal if a helper was on hand to turn on burners and put food in the oven or take it out while you are in the dining room.
”I like doing a meal like this at home,” she continues. ”Speed isn`t as important as it is in the restaurant. The point is to work carefully and make each item as good as it can be.”
By the chef`s timetable, assembly of dessert is done shortly before the guests arrive. The made-ahead soup is reheated about 10 minutes before they go to table. The final step of the lobster mousse preparation, beating and folding in the egg whites-a five-minute chore-is done then too.
Someone, preferably the helper, places the souffles in the preheated oven as the soup course ends. The souffles are served, then the oven turned up. The preseared meat goes in as the last bites of souffle are consumed. The vegetable, sauce and compote reheat while the venison roasts. Plate the vegetables first, then slice the venison, allowing it time to rest after coming from the oven.
Give the guests a few minutes on their own as you toss the salad, sift the sugar over the tarte and start the coffee.
