The American Club in Kohler, Wis., located close enough to Sheboygan for visitors to smell the brats cooking on back-yard barbecues at this time of year, is one of the Midwest’s premier resorts. Last year, however, the club made it clear that it wasn’t resting on its laurels. Seventy-five new guest rooms were built (to bring the total to 236), 100 existing rooms were refurbished and 7,000 square feet of conference and meeting rooms were added.
The Kohler company, which built the town and the American Club (originally, the core building was a dormitory for immigrant workers), is known for its bathroom products. The American Club, in turn, is famous for its state-of-the-art bathrooms. But you can’t eat bathroom fixtures, so between showers-or rounds of golf or wilderness hikes or spa activities-guests head for one of the nine dining facilities on the property.
Therefore, I was told on a recent visit, a great deal has been done to change and update the food selection.
Executive chef Rhyes Lewis, 37, who was recruited from Colonial Williamsburg nearly five years ago, has assembled a team of motivated young chefs who are aided by trainees on externship assignments from culinary schools. The hyperactive management, which also doubled banquet business last year and expanded and remodeled the main dining space, the Wisconsin Room, gives Lewis great credit for establishing an “atmosphere of exploration.”
That exploration has been conducted cautiously, Lewis freely admits, because 60 percent of the club’s food income comes from customers in the area who have made it clear they still favor exaggerated portions of Continental cuisine classics. Also, the chefs’ desire to hand-tool each plate of food is stymied by the pressure of production needs. On any Saturday, the kitchen staff might well prepare 1,800 meals.
So his aim, Lewis says, is to “produce food that’s recognizable. People are here to relax, so our menus are straightforward. Also, we’re in the Midwest, so I search for local and regional ingredients that enhance flavor, such as wild mushrooms, herbs, high-quality Wisconsin cheeses.
“One of my missions is to show the cooks that it is not necessary to add fat to obtain flavor. I do a lot of grilling and smoking, use marinades and herbs.
A dinner and breakfast in the Wisconsin Room and dinner at the Immigrant, the signature dining room, provided several examples of the leaner, fresher-tasting preparations the chef has been creating.
In the Wisconsin Room, dinner began with an impressive pair of soups. One was a smoky Great Lakes fish chowder, the other a flavorful combination of wild rice, red onions and mushrooms. Worth remembering for a future visit were a juicy pan-roasted chicken garnished with crayfish tails and a beautifully poached salmon fillet served over a creamy hash of potatoes, green bell pepper, crabmeat, leek and tomato. A not-too-sweet dessert tart made with Wisconsin cheeses made the point of the quality that local ingredients can achieve.
At breakfast, choosing took no longer than the time required to read the description of fruit flapjacks: “malted buttermilk pancakes layered with fresh strawberries, bananas and orange segments, Wisconsin maple syrup.”
The menu at the Immigrant is less broad, with several of the dishes offering stilted ingredient combinations. Nonetheless, there’s no reason to boycott such classics as lobster bisque and Caesar salad when they are so well-made. Furthermore, a braised duck breast served with wild mushrooms, endive and a mashed-potato cake was a worthy example of the new direction the kitchen crew favors.
Outside the club itself, there’s River Wildlife, a cabin snuggled into a wilderness preserve where manager Aina Henegar and her band of women cooks and servers continue to provide wonderfully satisfying country fare. The breads, rolls and baked goods are enchanting, and a brunch main course-walleye fillet coated with millet and sunflower nuts-was a flavor revelation. At Cucina, an attractive Italian theme restaurant in Kohler’s complex of boutique shops, a Sicilian submarine sandwich, served hot so its cheese had melted, provided a tasty midday meal.
Here is a sampling of what I tasted:
WISCONSIN ROOM FRUIT FLAPJACKS
Four servings
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup salad oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vegetable oil as needed
4 oranges, peeled and cut into segments
4 bananas, peeled and sliced on the bias
16 strawberries, hulled and sliced
Powdered sugar
Maple syrup
1. In a mixing bowl, blend flour, sugar and baking powder. Add milk, buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla and blend until smooth. Let stand at least 30 minutes.
2. Drop batter on a hot, lightly oiled skillet or griddle, using a 1/2-cup measure. Repeat two or three times, depending on size of skillet. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turn and cook an additional 2 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate and keep warm in a low oven. Continue until you have 12 medium pancakes.
3. Place one pancake in the center of a warm plate. Add a layer of orange slices. Place a second pancake atop oranges and top with bananas. Place the third pancake on the bananas and top with strawberries and dust with powdered sugar. Repeat with three more plates. Pass warm maple syrup at the table.
GREAT LAKES SMOKED CHUB CHOWDER
12 to 14 servings
4 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
1 pound smoked chubs
2 tablespoons butter, plus 2/3 cup
1 cup diced onion
4 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 quart clam juice (or 3 ten-ounce bottles), mixed with 1 quart water
2/3 cup flour
1 quart whipping cream
Salt and white pepper to taste
4 tablespoons finely chopped chives, for garnish
1. Boil diced potatoes in salted water to cover until just tender. Do not overcook. Drain and reserve.
2. Peel skin from chubs and discard. Carefully debone the fish, leaving meat in varying sizes. Reserve fish, discard bones.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot. Add onion, garlic, bay leaf and thyme and cook over low heat until onion is soft. Add the clam juice and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt remaining 2/3 cup butter. As soon as it stops bubbling, add flour and stir over low heat to make a roux. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes without browning flour.
5. Gradually whisk roux into hot fish broth, then simmer an additional 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often. (Soup may be done ahead to this point. Reheat before continuing.)
6. Add cream and reserved potatoes to the soup. Add the reserved fish. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Ladle into bowls or large cups and garnish with chopped chives.
CUCINA’S HOT SICILIAN SUBMARINE SANDWICH
Four 8-inch sandwiches
4 loaves hard-crust French bread (each about 8 inches long)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup basil pesto
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup finely sliced red onions
1 cup sliced green bell peppers
12 slices tomato
8 ounces capicola ham, thinly sliced
8 ounces Genoa salami, thinly sliced
8 ounces smoked, aged Wisconsin provolone, thinly sliced
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice French bread loaves lengthwise without cutting all the way through them. Spread mayonnaise and pesto on the interior of each loaf evenly. Divide lettuce, onions, peppers and tomato slices evenly among the loaves. Layer ham, salami and cheese on top, ending with cheese.
2. Heat sandwiches in the oven for 5 minutes, or until warmed through. Slice each sandwich crosswise into manageable pieces and serve at once.
