Culinary Artistry

C harlie Palmer says h e tells his young cooks to concentrate on wh~t

tI1.ey £lee I and what they know when t,hey, coo'k. "I te ll them n ot to J'ust ,I a
,U{j
versL,On f what I'm doing or Mark MIller s do mg or anyone else ISdOing" he
'
0

says. "I tell them, It's got to be you. It can't be me." ,

"Developing a personal style h as to do wIth developmg a point of view,"

Jasper White explains. "I think it takes years todevelop that. And it never

really stays quite the same . But I thmk at a certam pom t you know what it IS

and you become yourself."
"There are many different ways to do things ," Danko says. "You need to

go out and see everybody's style, and then look inside yourself and ask, 'What
feels and works best £lor me.7'"

Because chefs' cuisines are a

Influences on Chefs' Styles direct result of their experi.

ences, their use of certain ingredients or offering of particular dishes can often
be traced back to ~pecific culinary influences.

After opening her fir t restaurant with partner Susan Feniger, MarySue
Milltken admit" "For a few months, we basically just copied things that we'd
done before that we'Ll liked the most. Mostly, they were the more peasanty,

country.,tyle JI he ." FeOiger Lkk "When we first opened, we were dning

Mark Miller on the Influence of Richard Olney

When we talk ahour my OWIl hCI!!htent-d c,)n I u ne ,thl;: e\ ent or people or chef that have been

mfluence in my hfe-It' pe,)ple ltke RI h rd Olne,. He I not cl chef; he i basically a cook. He's a

pamter. And hb knl)wleclge of CUI'lOe I unl aralleled, e\'t;~n 10 France. He is respected as the mo t knowl·

edgeable per I n in ooJ and WIO prub bl) 10 the Eng!! h or Fren h language today. Whenever you men·

tlon Richard Olney 10 th~H mJe, he' revered nJ he' re pected- nd thl i amazmg, because hes

Amencan and come, trom 10\\a!

Here' a pl:rson \\ ho IOt1uenced J me Beard. He".1 probahly one of the greate t Influences

Altce Water, m) eli, Jeremiah To"cr. enallll) The French Menu Cookbook but more Importan

SImple French Cooking \\hen It c me ut, really did re\olu[\onlze CalifornIa CUI me From Elizllldl

Da\ld through Richard Olne} thr ugh A"ce Water , ~ou can see there' a direct dellCelldenct

phil ph).

The French Menu Cookbook-I thlllk we cooked everythmg m that book at (lj.~ ft.~',~
)OU kno" "hat' Thc publIc "ked e\cq 109Ie dl h, whether It w the kI

The f, d It elf reflect a certam plflted ment Itt It the hoiftcstY

nted It" a c mm L ut d the 19605, when people _nrl'td

"n " nJ their wn lxxlie and their wn n ron!men

l ,t~ l........lU L , (lmtlt Qt duck, pot-au-fell, lamb stews-all that kind f stuff. That

0

...C' ' tluenced a lot by rhe restaurant where we met [Le Perroquet t,n
111 ..
\\ l
JChIC,l~c1 "
',
\\'hile Hubert Keller can ImmedIately point to two dishes he learned

jnti.oJ't1'Ch\g\I'raa,'trs'Ie~'tr'etthnJ'ei,)nibre,twiwmhiietchh1"1t1ohtaeosptceodrnet1bs1tna1"ouucerashnett)o,kshietercvhbeeenltIosevttrehysiisnthdgaatytoy(goaeuntnotghnceihorenefssttaasrhut,roauanlndtd's-

recI,l'e;.. "It's more important to understand their message ' thel'r ph'Iloso-
hI'," he say,· "You want to try to understand the underlying concept and

orraa,n1'-..ation that makes the restaurant successfuL Because if it's successful)

rh:re's somethmg behind it-and It's not likely to be simply a recipe for fish

sauce. "
Keller crechts his time cooking at L'Auberge de I'Ill in France as improv-

in" his techmque and teaching him the details of execution. "And the time I
5 :nt in the south of France with [French chefs Roger] Verge and Dacquesl

MraXImIn was a reaI eye-opener," he says. "HaV'111g grown up 1,11 Alsaee, it fol-

lowed me more, and I was more receptive to It. In the south of France, we
cooked WIth o\t\'e oil and basil, which we'd never used at L'Auberge."
(JoachIm SplIChal IS another Maxlmm alumnus who CUlsme has the image of he who made it.

cites the French chef as the _ingle per m who' had the -Charles Barner

Hi food ha, uch an 111ten it) nd u h a ImpltCity. 111e perfection of it is unparalleled. The meals

I've had at Richard' hOll e were meal that are memorahle f ecau,e YllU cnuld not maximize the taste or
the dIsh <lny more. A gnlleJ lam \\ lth Prm en ~I herb, a p. ~ta WIth orre\, a salad with rocket flowers
In It, 'orne chee,es, d grt:ar old Bard ux, m white Rurgundle, . \)Ine fig~-I remember the meal like
it I'.a \e terJay, and It \\a t\\cnt) ~ear' ago. It \a~ tho~e t1a\or .

What Rich mJ Olne\ dlJ wa look at French cUl,me 111 the c unt1)'~ide and say, "It isn't just this French

classIC cui me eXI ting 111 re tdurant.'! j rt:all\ the I' of It, underneath it, is thi" great spirited food and the
unple food that came from mgredlent; that ere pure, 'uong ingredient ." The analogy would be that he

brou"ht about Dhf rnla CUl5me through h~ mterpretanon of regIOnal, SImple foods with strong tlavors-

Inth lad, an empwi on her '\ Ithout that, there probably \\ould not have heen California cuisine.

RIChard Olne) lone of tho e 0e11lU e who really changed the way French people think about

their I'.n toad, taught Ameri<.:an ab lit food •• nd created what we thrnk of as modem food. I would say

Jam Beard I the founder i regIOnal Amen ~111 food. but certainly not modem American food. Olney,

re th n n}lxxl~ el e. ~ the per n mo t re pon iHe for changing .l h)t of what we eat today--everv-

th fr m Altee and Jeremiah to Call~ rnid Plz:a Kitchen.

WIth RI hard, the ripple at hi mfluen eon even'one from leadmg chef to bread baker to W111;

t ry f r. Th e pe pIe re at the top cf their c. reer • and then underneath It all. there

lit. And that' RIChard Oloe,.

most mfluence on hb style. "H.e w,,, Very
Mediterranean m his use of uitve oil lInd
fresh h erbs," Splich al remember .)

O penmg the re taurant Cui tnt dt

Solei! m Brazil for Roger VergE, while
serving to expand his cUisine in n\!\V

directions, was , Keller says, a little Itke

cooking m the south of France . "Again

we were cooking with olive Oil, garhc'

,.omons, and tomatoes," Keller recall '

"And cilantro, which we used there, had

never been used m an y of the French

three-stars. I found myse lf PUtting

coconut into fish stew, and u 109 Corian-

, der. Ju~t tastmg all the local Ji,hes, plu,

a cla" 1 wllk in Bra:ili:1I1 cuisme while

hving there, wa a real edUCatllm of 01) eye ,1Od pabte."

Rick Bayle, recall, that he taught co kmg da~,es in his early twenties
Junng graduate, hool at the Unlver Ity 0 , 1lchlgan. "~1y whole \\" Ir\J wal

ac.1demlc, <lOd becau e I pored over cookbo k , 1 fanclcll th.lt I knew ( 1,lt

about cookmg," a Ba -Ie . ": meone on e IIl1 to me, 'I you travel with

me311 knmded e u h we 10 }our he, 1, you'll probe hly hnng hac.k Imo t

nothing. But If U \\ Ith) Ie n I te, th n you'll probahly bnng back

mountam fin rm tI n.' I rem mhere th t the following year \\hen I \\

able to take IX \\eek nJ go [ I ','lot )U t [U Iy food, and I took that

ad\lce \\Ith me \\ hen I \\ ent,

" I t at tim , I e th 10 Ill) f lIow chet \\ hen they travel to
1exI o--e pe lalh the ne \\ h ) \ nt to Ie m I little bIt d~( ut 11cXIC nih-

\ onng and ) rth to 10 rpor.lte lOt their \\ n \ e IOn f \\ hate\ er CUI tOe

[he\ 're \ rkm 10, r th Ir )\\ n CUI me- nd the) gt) with [h Ir mind all

full 01 10 rm Itl n, nJ th 're I km. ~ ran} (hm • that the\ l: n kmd I lip

10 bet\\een the u k 0 m~ rm HI nth t th ) alread) ha\l~. trel\u nth I
thmk th t th \ ml II 0 the bl~ tuff, th re II ood ruff, \\ h n the dv

th t.

. "There \\ere a number 01 time th t I \\a tra\elmg through. 1 I~

domg re earch f r our fIr t book th It I \\()uld JU ( top be use I r (11t:eJ th [

I \\ I JU t httm • e\ ef}t hIn mto m~ framc\\ork I \\oul' J to Ol) I1 'I J n't

under tand n q h l ng alx ut \\ hat thl pc n I reall) dolO But 1•m) t

1

t 1\\ l[ch. nd I'm JU t g )lng tI (a ( and I'm In to wnt It II J "0

then I'm • In t) m Ie thl dl h, JU t thl w m uO(l11

fl ure ut \\h th per n \\ d )In J( t h t h i n t rm t:'11 r

"rrlh11'e' \\"<lS the way Bayless managed to learn so much about MeX'lcan CUI,-
cuisine of Mexico is not a cuisine of restaurants and chefs"
real

,'Ineu,e'. B. ·Iess, "I t's reaIIy the CU'IS'ine 0f the women who have been ' th'e
<1}
In
a name for them-they' re caIIed
[kJhrI'gtechme.an'jotr'0dreJ'c,enantudritehsedyo,riengt this stuff. The re's whole tradition Unfo rt unate Iy,
he holders of the '

,

any 0 f the male chefs, when they go Into that role in the hotels go 'In W'Ith
IIhIis attlt,UJUe that if they cook t he cuisine of '
the majordes,theny're cogokl' "glIr
f[ood,' S they want show that they know what 'real' cuisine is all abau t .
to
0
unfortunately, I think that they generally miss the mark, because they're not

'II' to onen their eyes and say, 'This is it-this is what tastes good this is
\1'1 mg. shout ld be, I understand what the cuisine is all about and I'm' going
wha,t Ikt with it instead of trym, g to somehow domm" ate the scene.'

ro"m"Similarly, I like [French] CU.l"sme bourgeozse much better than I do most

of the haure cuisine, In fact, when I eat haute cuisine that is really satisfying to

me in France, I always think that it tastes very much like good home cook-

, It satisfies in that same way," Bayless says.

mg·

Bayless describes his

How Have Their Cuisines Evolved? current food as being

"much more confident" than the food he cooked when he first opened

Frontera Grill. "Now I'm much more willing to really listen to my own heart

and do what I know 15 nght. ThiS is in spite of the fact that With every issue

of Art Culmaire I get, I go into. ome immediate panic or derre~"ion because I

can't cook food that looks like that. I Llsu,tlly can come out of it very quickly

and say, 'You km)w, my fOcKl IS the food that really ati"ftes me.' And I'm

thankful that other people react to It ,1ml can relate to it and seem to really

Itke it, too-... that it doesn't have tn be all that fancy, fussy stuff to be good.

"I think the tnmg flavl1r profile elf, Jih makes it satisfying from the

fim bite tll the last. In ~ lexican tll(lLI, it \ much mure c)f a homogeneity of fla-
vor; you're looking for thl~ rlmnd, nch tlavor [hat :-peaks of one thing, and it'
the name of that dish. whatever it \\ ,luld ~e. I think when you eat one of our

di,he' from t-eginntng to end now. you ",til notice thelt all of the components

on the rlate are m harmom, that we\'e got the right accompantments, the

rtght g3rnt~ht.' • that e\'erything ]u...t ,eem~ rh~ht ahout it. That has always

been purred on by my cunfidence in the ti1Ct that when you get everything

taken 3way from a cit' h anLI ,nil have .I perfect dish-then it's fight," says

Bayle . "It" not d matter ot how much Cdn \'l)Ll put on, Lput h ow Glueh can

~ou take I\\a)' from It that h the 4ue,ulln YOU should always ask."

• orman Van Aken de,cribe hi' 0\\ n proce's of e\"olunon a<; a chef: "I

nl JtJ ....hat Iw told I a~\\.1' ,uppo eel to d,).l a chef, unnl there was a ce:-
uf me that 111 do that!' That 197 I,
t mItttle rart aid,' '0 \\ am I g LOg \\,,1,

295

na

We cont nue lettmg the mgredients speak for and I'd been cooking since 1971 . Then I neeu.1ed t
educate myself. dSuocatthl.oen biggest change has been th()
t emse ves-and contmue fighting our cooks and process 0 f seIf-e and growing up and I e

chefs not to try to complicate them so much more about food." earntng

_ _ emlah Tower

Even A lice Waters ad mits that wh en she first opened Chez Pan .~l

. "
197 1, "I didn't know an ything about seasonaltty. I really thought the seasonn
for green beans lasted fro m the spring to the fall ! But there's a moment for
those, and everything else-and you have to catch it. And you have t "
0 reSiSt
using those "Ingre.dtents at other ti"mes of the year."

Waters believes, "We've uncovered a whole range of ingredl"ents, a
whole range of tastes, that we didn't know an ything about twenty-ft","e years

ago. That's significant. I think we were ort of working with the prtmary col.

ors when we opened. We had a little fennel-something so exotic as that, at

Mark Miller on the Importance of Pushing

People a} the} 're pu hlng the envelope, but I don't really thmk they are.

I see u turning wa from food and becoming more selective about what

we eat and wh we eat It and wh n we eat It and with whom we eat it.

And oun ch f r n't pu hlng th Ir own palate pa t the point of where

me 'r ut m t1

I w r If ch f re d In en uhf, r themselve to actually under-

m}t n what h uld be dolO f, r the . Or do they alway go to the

n w h t r taur nt thmlun that they h uld create the new hot re tau-

r"dnt, r th new h t d h Or th JU t w nt to be 10 Art Culi7U1lre? Is

m mt 1r nl 1 If th are their r I models, If that' what they want

td mg m America

Pan chefs are II on that road today. But t Ch

Thanksglvina the ide and do bl dmners and

place I toeerhcr. I cookmg turkey an the fi

than HI ~
enq~ms and put them

California. I would

Ie > And we rut nastur-

tIln~,
[ 1 ,[edible flll\\'eni] in a salad,

,e'[lul11' \\',1" exotiC, ., But no\\, w'e
'en[een km,Jus f 'Id
I 'l[
0 WI
lIld [ 1<

<.
hJ,'e
'I 1olll', and an equal nUlTI-

nlU' lr'l heirloom tomatoes, and
be r t
,0 that I could never have
,

[urIlI,\,'ed the shapes and colors
(0iOlfl,luagr5,'ten,Jl, ml' el
for beets, And, of
the potatoes-russet

r, rooes antd read one,s were as much as I knew about potatoes back then, Now,
el1llk wlth yellow fms and ruby crescents and fingerlings It's Jn' uoswt fawnetahsatlv'c~
\I'e watercress back then was exotic,
pOSSibilitieS, To ha\'e '
the
and

upting cress and ancho cress and ,tiny little watercress-a whole world of

ta''te-"' I think at Che: Pai1ls::,e we ve learned a lot of things about putt'mg
together a menu, but even more in terms of ingredients,"

Gary Danko believes his food at The Ritz-Carlton Dining Room (San

FrancisCO) was much different from the fooJ he served prior to that at

Chateau Souverain in Napa Valley, "And my next restaurant Will again

ret1ect a different ,tyle of food," he qy , "A lot of the principles and tech-

nique, Will 'tal', ~uch a~ hO\\ I make my ,tocks or bh fumes. But sav mv next

knchen has fifty burner. and i" a ~1en:euec-Ben: of kttchen~-Itke Gray Kun:

has~-then my ,tyle uf cookmg b goin~ to change becall e I'm 1I1 a different

ennwnment.

"Say, tor example, I left an Franci co .mel moved to 1 'e\\ York. There

would be an additional change a" I went intO d new cit) anJ adopteJ to what

the ,{'ecific~ are-'er\'lng dll1ner I.Her, lookm~ at different pmdllce,

.-\lthough {'eople ',1\' we ha\'e better pwduce m Cahfornta. I think. 'ew York

ha, a whole n~\\' lea!!ue 0 pw\.!u e ~ecau e It ha- Europe a~ it~ market and
Cahfornl3 ha- A,ia. Very little ire h rrodll\..t~ cumes in from A'la--t.luite
irankl), Cah~ mid I_ not gom!.! to It:t < n~ citrll" in from any part of the
worIJ-\\ herea I e\\ York gL'[- oran!!\: frmu Spam or clementln~' anJ that

kmd of thm:!. nJ I thmk the ft,h and the ,elecnon of fi-h 1 better m . 'ew

York :01'.1 ha\'e a very different m.ukd ba ket," ~a" Danko. "It\
E\0I"In'.:! a ache o\er [he Cl)Ur e 0 a ar~er ha, It' chaIIenge..
frll~­
ne\er been In e.1 ) proce,"" ,,1\ Patrick l)' nnd\. "You're continually

trated \\Ith wantln.! [0 be more mVt:ntive and more creali\''; and have more

Ide than \OU J . And \llU hlve lit) penod-, tOO, when yuu feel you're in ,\
lern"'le rut. Wh t ['ve 1 a. rneJ I that after \ u d12 t he rut J t!ep t>: nllu~"h. at the

r nt .... her \ JU teeI \\ here here'' no \\ .\) l tit, e\.e.-, ",uu )u--r kinJ of keer

n nJ th n U nd tip e 'plodm~ Ollll)t It."

297

cS

So"\utXhs'ae.ltnrI1TIReehaveadgetmr·i'ssy,gwmhchaeh\Yn'eeufes,p"• rewleinekpeattr.hneJ1,eedaamnmn-oaLesnwot yusitess.epacsePhoCanni.laile.q'aldtudymec.,fh"o, eo.sfdashysisk"rfeerLeoypm.adnipads.ucsrhhahettnircrlhe::c..ht"IehnWfeml•e' '1l1'rveeeBvIdIeaLnl(sn'a~.,·
dfi.e d our own beef and mwaodnedeorufrulowcont~cphro,mSCo IsUatutOs.a::'g, eS,~hv lirthe reports With l'rt'J·e
"And I recently made a a recipe 1 got froll)

Lidia Bastianich of Felidia re taurant m Manhattan ,

"If you stand still, it becomes boring," agrees Joachim Splichal. "And

we are not factory workers-we are artists."

The Chef as Owne For culmar)' artl tt~~ ewlfh mpaesspiaosni ofonr forrunc nootnkgtn~a
b greater than

busme~ , It can he difficult tl) balance the t\\"l. "It you're a chef without ~ our

own husme ,5, then you can concentrate m\)fC on the cooking , But If you have
your own re~taur(lI1t, then ,·ou have to be more of .l C lllaborator," say~ Daniel
Boulud. "I won't let m) bu'me~ or my co km~ go entirely into ()ther~' han,b,

I have a lot of pe pie worklll ' wnh me, but I .lIn the epicenter of ,Ill of it."

ann n Van Aken POlllt ut the Itfferencc, in his stylem e becom-

109 a chef· "ner, op d t r"lll d the hef f omeone el,c' re t,m-

r,lI1r. ". mu h hI r re t Unlnt. [At A Mana). I cooked )me-

time ut cl n f lpe; It haJ a tran 1 hold on me be au c I \\ n't

the o\\ner nd I " ) mu\:h t ) be orne the owner of the re taurant.

There \\ere urn \\h n It \\ mor ed ,I 'U . Wherea now, It' ltke ~tng
m m) o"n h m , nJ I cd mu h m re m~mahle WIth my fexxl It' more

b Ian ed, l\ er 1I

When u're n t the wn r, ou're gOIng to take the opportuntty

reach he nJ \\ h re )U hould r h)m tim hecau you're hell-bent on

fmdm out tI all that ou nt t fmd out tn the creattve proc

the "'ner, th re enatn rt c Imn th t com tn that allows

t feel m lr bal nced about everythm ," Van Aken.

RI k Sa I found that

the p ures r tauranr own·

ershlp tnltlall had an Wlden••

able tnflu nc on h food

"When you put your entue •

tnp and muemtnt

money

B'l\'Ie'"" "When I opened, I wasn't quite sure where A chef S CUI'Sine sWings on h t G
,ell" ng to ha\'e to end up for financial reasons ·the dolo Ih " W a ray Kunz calls
\I'ehlIl'UergehgOI !\\".,IS. , ' n e I faclor "GeW .
very much to trusting nght is wha tg'ives CU,Isine its gng eIvery d"etail
commItted my

,1 It l gut ,anJ instincts about what good food really is. I says Kunz 'Olh ' , . rea ness,
' 1 c ' erwlse, II s Just good"
I ' eight months ' I relaxed intomyown
, h1\' 'Ik t1darI ""frer we were open lor SIX or that people could appreciate." .
knew that ir was something
(Ill

s(yOle anhr er aspects 0 f achef'S cU"lsme may IikeIy change over time. Jean-

Georges " 11gerichten clearly moved consciously toward a less formal CU"lsme

vO , the Lafayette' to own French b'Istro,
Ieft his h.otel kItchen at u was a lot lIke .o pen his Lafayette, incorpo-
II,h'0en"hIne the beginnmg, the men It was at

JOJ' , etables juices. It was a lower-key restaurant, but the same food W
rating \e g . .e
h d rhe same cooks, the same walters, but at a more casual price and atmos-

3 re," he says. "But five years later, the menu IS totally different. There are

phe tural flavors, and far Clel\.er m' gred'lents-m' some cases only three-
more na ,., . . '
on a rlate." Vongerichten descnbes JO)O s cUIsine today as "Ver.T, loose. We

might serve something one way one day, and it might be as much as ten per-

cent off the next day, "

Still, Vongerichten admit~ that he misses the style of cookim~ demand-

ed of a high-end restaurant. "I miss the rrecisene~, of things," he says. "At a

high-end restaurant, the customers expect even more. And the more pressure

you have, the hetter the recipe,." Vnngerichten announced plans to return to
[hIS style of CUIsine with hl~ next re tau rant, scheduled to open In

Manhattan's Lincoln Center area.
Another one of hi, g()al, I hlnfllr1g b. ck '!fand erYlce. "LIke the

19305," he says. "When you're In the kitchen, ,ou have all the e great .,melb,
but the customer doe,n't. I want the ell tamer to he dble to hedr the ~1::le, to

see the fooJ as It \', cut into." He creJIt' <1' m plratlon a dinner at Tatllevent

in Paris, to which hi, parent took hlln f( Ir hi' el~hteenth birthJa). "It was

rery sen'ual," he rememl>ers. "Everyone wa 0 excited before a dl,h drfl\·eJ.

I thmk the appetite develop' more \\ hen, ou eat thl w"a)."
VongenLhten ay' he plan, to cr'\'e hal the dhhe~ table, ide at hb next

re taurant. "If we have a luhter aLld n the menu, a tech11lcal cook wtll

cook the lobster, l>Ul It Will be Cut dt the table and to ed With 'pinach," he

says. "AnJ then the people at the next tahl \\ til -.ce the lob ter, or the Juck

be/lng carved. I'm not talkmg ahout h.W\11g t1ambe or putting on .how:'>.

We're )U~t gom~ to hnng aroma~ hack intO the ,!tntng ro m anJ have people

rartlClpate rnare m the ·tOO\.1l expen.ence."

, bJla hire de cnbe Blba a .m ede tI Amencan re raurant "where

t\\e re free t ) do an} thing we \\ \11t," he. ,"Plgnoh, on the other hand,

It itd\t n re t IUram, penod. And \\ e d )Oft ba,rarJl:e or Amencant:e.
J n t e t pa ta
fir t cour e, 0 W don't ofter It. one.

A mericans are used to hav ing all. appetize r und all. entree, but Italians tat
three :, maller courses: antipasto , then risotto or pas ta, then a sm<lll entrEe
It's the bes t way in the world to eat- that way, yo u get to try th ree thing,

instead of two!"
Shire adds, "O ur customers are pay ing us to put some interesting flaVor

combinations all. a plate. They want to see things that they can't recreate at

home. "
Hubert Keller agrees. "When customers come into Fleur de Lys, the

are expecting a gasrronomicaI expen.ence ," he says. "Very sI' mpIe dishes canY
he very good, but I believe that if all. average customer can recreate the same

dish at home, then the restaurant and the chef have missed something. Anu
I know that there are many chefs who don't agree with me a ll. this. But I

think we should go heyond what a home cook would do. After all , thb ISOUr

profession. "
Vongerichten recount:, how Picds:,o once gave a demonstration on h olV

to make a lot of money in a short tllne: "He slapped some paint on a canvas

and signed hIS name to It, and claimed he'd created five million dollars In
minute,. 'It\ hulbhlt, but It selh,' wa~ his Clll11ment," says Vongerichten. "In
fooJ, that 1I ed to h,lpl'en more ilnll I11pre-hut thcre\ no hullshit (\nym\lf~.

You can't get ,1\\,1' \\ nh It. People n:c( !.!ni:e n,l\'or and freshness now."

Often evolutIon re ult tn lI11pllflc.ltlon. Je,m-Louis PalLldll1 hdieve

that LU ramer \\{ n't be ble to" md the td te " un the plate If there ,ITe wo
mam mgredlent n \\dm..! It." em, I'm tr}tng to he a~ simple as p(lssihie,"

"l} Pallidm. "I J n'l Itk to put more lh, n three elements on ,I plate."

• 'onn m III ken gre . "E\ I') )eaT, I know [hat it'~ going to ~e a

further tnprmg WIV nd peclmg h, Lk md fmull1g ()ut what' es~el1tial,"
he 3}", U Irma} be Impler, or \\ h It \\ e feel to be [Tuer. And [h,lt's [he lIlt!-

m. te goal."

Global Cuisine CUI me I con t<mtly bemg haped and re haped by

ever-chan m J int1uence : customer demanJ , the

3\ ailabl!'t) If mgredlent. chef' expenmentatlon, even meJla pi

"Unt: rtunatcl}, the c )kmg of a lot of ountne I di mtegratmg," oh rv

Altce Water. "It' hard to get thl e really Imple and perfeet dl he 3(1)ffi

E\erybody' embr Idenng all kmd (f thmg II over."

Michael R mano ha observed that all the MlChelm three- taT r t

rant seem to ha\e bee( me \ery Fr n h ven tho 10 Italy "It' prlltl,llllY

all p rt f th dnve f, r Mlch 1m ta 'he peculate J hann Kille n

n {tee that 'the m re IMI helm) t r t ur nt h
h UI m
Fr n hlfled It I It' MI hellO

m fit nd Jud ev urant accolrdtn I

difficult to find food th '
of Italian food has be at s pure. A lot
. h come muddled
Wlt no dear flavors n c There'
, 0
lOCUS.

Ja.uremptm.oog tmh raonuyghachrooobpast.i"cs, mtoo u ch

Rick Bayless says he "bn'st1es" at
MeXl.CO.
"thTe.hern~eawr-est~yfleew cuisine in
people who are doing

a fme Job wlth it. But most of them are

hotel-trained chefs, and when they

start doing this modem version of

~. b~ias cL~I_s_t'U" ffitalcloomveesr out looking like bad nOlltleUe c uis ine-there's !ittl
the plate. A try to tone it downe.
nd sometimes they

onY theY do that, I feel like they're taking out the guts of the dish and all

~ldt trith is a kind of hollow shell," he say .

~ "Mexican CUISine is a robust and very elegant cuisine, but it' elegant in

. silllf'licitYo itS naturalness, its pontaneous feel. When you tan making a

~ with uteen garnishes and little things dropped around the plate, it' not

w~.. It'I m' the point of Mexican food, in my book," says Bayless.

'1bar'. why my food' much more immediate and much more traightfor-

.-. We work With big. bold trek . We don't put too much food on the

pt.. ~I 1 at IDtdfera ,th our ' abihty to really appreci•

., your palate can get confused really quickly with

th...

noIIeI Danael Boulud. "The French

food. I have been learning about

France to team. and when they

IQPI1li1ticat.ed and refined enough to

nine herbs and tomato coulis. I'm proud of it, and people love It. AnJ I d"n't

think there's an Italian who could make it as good !
"And I love risotto, and like to offer it to my customers. Risotto is won_

derful for providing a stage for th~ flavor of ingredients, wh ich can give m~ny
dimensions to it. For example, I 11 serve a lobster n sotto made with lob,ter

stock, or a squab risotto made with squab broth, or a sh ellfish risotto made
with the juice and water of shellfish. I like to 'French-ize' my risotto.

"One of the last risottoSI came up with was inspired by my vacation in

the Pays Basque [near the border of Spain and France) last year: a seafood

risotto with a puree of pasilla peppers and a saffron broth," says Boulud. "\

love this dish very much-it's like French Tex-Mex."
Some chefs are well respected for their ability to merge a wide array of

culinary ingredients and techmques. Lvdia Shire describes her cuisine as hav-

ing both eclectic (involVIng a mixmg and matching of courses with varying

influence,,) and fusion (representing a melding of the ingredients and/or

techniques of twO or more regions) elements. She h astens to add, "But with
re~traint~ I won't do thin gs just for shock value; there are certain things we'd
never, e\'er do." he cite" a~ an example a fi,h dish served with couscous and

wa'abi, wluchhe was once t, ken ab,\Ck to see on another restaurant's menu.

Norman Van Aken on New World Cuisine ' .,.' .

One of the wrche that I carry l one eh It we t Illuminate the type of cooking that ha nllt heenu

well known yet in mo t of . 10rth Ameri 1, \\, hlch I the regl mal CUI me of the Caribbean, Central Jnd
outh Amenca, and the mother that affected the cUI me
~ ountne that were brought to those areas,
~aewleisYsaeorrrkdegemgioarnedeaelFhrytaonG~reat~hnaKdtunlntezaelu~d,r
such as Africa and to of course 0 even though I might read ahout or
meone hke that, I have to tell myself, "That'
tnaosttemaygretoart\.diMh~ m_ to
to echo the Immigrant pattern that are south

Flonda." 0 that' a ver) Important fact r behmd why I cOOk what I'm gomg to cook.

People a k if the e\\, World CUI me I c k means the arne thmg to me as It doe to other ch

Well , I don't thmk rock and roll meant the me thang to Jerry Lee Lewl a It did to Elvi

However, there' a certain reference that' hared, a parenthetical opportUnity to express a cerratn

of probability. And I \\'elcome the fact that there are different deftnltlons that would be e paused by

\an Oll people \\'ho \\- ould ay that they're practlt10ners of ew World CUISine
I comed the term fusum CUISine a response the metdmg together of dISparate cutll\l

alth u h I \\, a not much Initially talkang about tnarrymg French and Thai, for example. I
cu ine with I intc~
mg alx ut marrymg rustiC CUlSme. With I and

It~ That t me I what I desc when I

But ery umbret And t\IAI)Il o...~

(~j r"", Kun: :.,a),s, "'A good"friend told me, 'What y ou' re dO'tng , takin

IS
[he rLh 1edgUe o~ft e,thmc cooking. I knew what he was tryt'ng to say. I do seeg
D11c,llplnegIt·s.OJ,o':',uicncceosrspfuo,lrlaytihna,gs flavors and fragrances, but in a very subt1e
a lot to You want to make sure way.
', that

do with finesse.

[he conte.xt I, still approachable and not go overboard and shock cus-

[Omero-jr.O" keep cuisine from 'gOing "overboard," Jean-Georges Yongen'chten

b,e l.itheerevsheou,l,d,be boundaries in food.""The 1990s should not be a meIt-
'ng pot, " he asserts. Now everyone has ginger In their kitchen. I n twenty
I I don't want to see 'universal cooking.' I think people should go back
trad'm,ons gO'inDg. al1'1eI Bou Iud is from
c[y0aenatrhs,.e,tll''IrI rJotS and keep Lyons ,ayndo u
".
l , "

find thtngs ltke tnpe and pork WIth lentils, whICh he grew up WI'th,

on hiS menu. ..
." wdl ne\'er put star al11se In my choucroute. If someone else finds some-

thing new to do with cabbage, great. But it hurts me to see things on a menu

like 'Thai Bouillabaisse.' They should call it a "Thai Fish Soup' instead of

ruining something great."
Norman Van Aken believes that It's important for chefs in various parts

of [he world to honor thelf regional bounty. "As much as possible, they

to VancoU\'er to New York to FlonJa, becau e of chef~ tclkmg dl~parate cuismes and welding them

together in hopefully a harmnmoll' we ldmg.
New Wllrld cui5ine wa~ the term thelt I came lip with to de cnbe what takes place in southeastern

Florida and to a degree will hegm t tclh piale 111 other plelce, ,I, well. much the same way as the

Southwestern food movement t()ok .mJ marned clas'lcal technique an,l methodology WIth Mexican

produce and, e\'entually, Mexican methoJulog\ or pre-Columhtan Il1Lltan methudlliogy. With us here in

iouth Florida, the varil)u~ mtluence are Latll10 ro < great degree, with all the different paWLS of the

Canhhean offering all thee \\ ild tWI t anJ rum'.

If you go into a market or a lltrle gr ery rore or cl lIttle cafe, whether It' Jamaican or NIcaraguan

or Argentinian or Cuban or Bohemian, }ou'll ee the ~lifterence m the cui~mes, It'll take a while w

understand the Jifference~, but a )Oll pend more and more time ~ou'll bl?gm tl) lInderqand the nuances

among them. Bemg from none of the e traditions, [ don't ha\'e ..ny clllegiance to a particular (ui~ine. It

allow me the freedom to go in and \ bit onf,1thpeu~et my own quilt together. .
orne of my coworker' < re na([ve place;,; they respond to by hetng
my experimentation

SOrt of tanled and happy and, metime a little .hy ahout It. If I'·.ly to them, "How 1oe, ",'ur gr,1n,1-

th' L 1 '
I particular tuberr' or wh<ltever, once I,\'c gotten th rough enouo,~ h of thl? iang, uJge
hm t'her work Wit h

taalrnnle~r,I I think they feel a part of It-It make them teel harp\,. It tn.lke, me feel harrY, bt.·C(}u,e It (cr-
IU t Important to me a reading h I" d 1 the,e place, them-
h k by peorle \\ho have perh'dP' I\e \I
as

03

should glorify and celebrate th e cuisines of their regions, 10 that oasliWttelet~Vtl
from city to city, and suburb to suburb, and little hick town t lelt
oIl regl0 ona1opportunl0ty."
town, that there 0 a great
Stl
IS

In a graduation speech Van Aken delivered at Johnson &. Walea

University a few years ago, he says he told students, "Don't go back ~
Virginia and cook New World cuisine. Don't go home to
southern Calif:
~and do that either. I think what you should do is go back

what your ttongest sense is of the people who are in that
and find out tha~

community at

point in time.

"And I don't mean cook 'museum food,'" Van Aken says he emPUL ll-

sized. "If you're in Dallas now, I think. you should embrace some Vietnam
flavors, becau.... there,s a suong V·Ietname5e community. But I hope thesatt

omer chefs ·U do what 1did in terms c1 reacting to where I live by reacting

1O.m e they lave. lOat would be honoring tt-honoring the ttadition but

...".......~ dwOUllJa cnau and the IUllUI8l inclination we have III

--Chefs' Styles Personified in Their Menus

'ous leading chefs around France created dinners honoring the centenary

Vafl e birth of the renowned gastr~nome Cumonsky. Twelve examples were

of th ed as reflecting the personalities of their creators as follows:

claSSlfi
Femand Point: Classicism

Cfulrles Barrier: Harmonious Simplicity
FrCD1fois Bise: Tradition Revived

Paul Bocuse: Vitality and Generosity
Alain Chapel: Supreme Inventiveness
Michel GuiTard: Subtletie of Taste
Paul Haeberlin: The Strength of Tradition

Louis OwthieT: A Delight for the Eyes

Jacques Pic: A Spread of Independent Creation
Raymond ThuiJier: Epicurean Delight

Troisgros Brothers: Aavors Close to the Land

Roger Vnxe: Exuberant Onginahty

the man who cared for the birds had a garden With herbs like garlic chive

and wild onIOnS, and I truly believe It brought a lot of flavor to them."

The partridges were killed and bled and hung with the guts in as well.

Btcao. cJ all the DOUble he'd gone to making sure the partridges had flavor,

Paimerdidn't to destroy their taste dunng the cooking proc . "I made
aJIG faa the
which finished With tJ«e de Wznde and herbs that

played on had been eating, and then, m the traditional

'"'_ th the partridges' blood," says Palmer. The

- ......ltedrare Ith the sauce, the fmely minced

cb8l\tClrel and some caramelized turnips,

ord_1X ..:uld ha e been too overpowenng,"

DiODt DOlI' perfect."

rechnoloIY m the United

to Palmer adIIlliu.

ndant tlJBt s not so much

e squid, sham and'" life.

nd change it into stull that Plople
would c;ons;1Ir , .Ii".

Peal-better ones. hlrN
able Are mere bedll _ ••-



George Germon and Johanne Killeen

ALFORNO
PT!Jt'idence. Rhode Island

Food'li.ke any other 'cultural phenomenon, is a living. thing. It naturally goes through a seamless, a\mOSt
imperceptible evolutIOn. Perhaps there are more chOIces on our present menu-and the choices are co .

c\ear~bo~~is acute, aggre
tinually being refined and Simplified-but our basic philosophy has the same clarity of vision. Our al n

ively clean in taste, and our style is grounded in reality. It seems our signature is moun~
plaLtt€:rs, not and in celebratory

Roaste'd dHGalf-Ch ' ken on a Nest ofVermiee-1ti-with

Ie

MIxe reeens

Oven-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Herbed Crust,

Roasted Potatoes, and Pear Mostarda

Pvot-Roo:ted Beef Fittet with Mashed Potatoes
mtner s Steak

ked in the Pink with Fresh Herbs, Cream, GritDled' Veal Tenderloins with Grilted P0 eIntaP, an
posta Ba nppings, and Fennel-Infused Onion

nd Fife Cheeses Clam Roast with (HOT!) Spicy Sausage, Endive,
a Bak'd with l'v1tlShrooms, Pancetta, Rapini,
Tomato, and Mashed Potatoes
Pasco c
Cream, and Fit'e Cheeses Gritted Veal Chop with Gremolata-Mashed Potatoes

Tagliatelle uith ;\1ascarpone and Oven-Cured Pink-

Prosciutto Cotto and Pickled Onions

Spaghetti tl'ith Tuscan Meat Ragu , Grilled Brine-Cured Pork Chops with Mashed

Pumpkin and potato-FIlled Free-FonTI Lasagna wIth Potatoes and Mixed Greens

Black Olit'e Butter Rosemary-Infused Veal Spareribs with Aged

Rolled Mushroom Lasagna with Bechamel, Tomato, Balsamic Vinegar and Roasted Garlic-Potato

and Parmigzano Cake

Fresh Little Compton Tilefish in Aqua Pazza

Fresh Little Compton Cod Roasted in a Caper

Grills, Roa,L, and BrJi~e~ For Ltttle Appetite ~lay()nnaise u'ith Roasted Potatoes

Small Plate of Roa ted Seasonal \'egetahl De ert~ (all, except fir~t two, made to order)
Pepper-Gnlled ChIcken Pm/lard u ith . 1rxed Greens,
Tirami~lI
Shat't'd ParmlRIano, Caramel!~ed Onions, and
SpICed Olzw Frc)h Fnut ulth Cannoh Cream
Tuscan Veal Stett U1th Bwternllt • lashed Potatoe
Tuscan Roasted au: age) and Grap s with t 1ashed Tartufu Gelato u'lth Baby Baci
Potatoes
Maho"any Otic k Le!! U Hh RIce and •1 dun Salad Oranrre and Fre h Fig Gelato
Lemon Gra1Hta tllth Hazelnut Biscotti
GnU, Roa ~, and Bral e- t r At Forno Appeme-
Coffee Granzta u ith WTiupped Cream
Gnlled and Roasted \ e&gIL Entree tllCh lash d Toasted Cocontll lee Cream Sandu'ich

POtatoes Grand CookIe Finale

(jnued ChICken Breast u Ith Wood-Roast d tuffln" Fresh Plum Tart
and itxed (Heens
Fresh Blwcberry Tart
G <. hICken Breast U1th (mUed Porwb Ito
u. hr nd R ted Potat Fwh B~tllaSckiobnenF)l'f:Taanrdt Blueberry Deep-Dish '
Black Pie

Fre.h Blu beny e1rLltin

Fre h Plum (,nlClll
Fre h Black Ii SlOn FI" Gmnl1

Jo 'ce Goldl>tein

SQUARE ONE
San FranCISco, California

( 1984- 1996)

Smce the time quare O.ne o.pene.d., our cuisine. came to sh.ow a'deeper understanding of the tradltl.onal

cui me . Rather than bemg slmphhed for Amencans, we tned to give them greater authentiCIty. Aho a

~hourktlls and our sense of orgam:atlon improved, we were able to take on a little bit more and have

plate'- re a little more complex. But I thmk the key really is that rather than giving customers a e

ver IOn of the. iedlterranean, we gave them the long-hand-we really tried to give it to them a If

were there. 'V.'e eliminated a lot of mternatlonal thing - and thmgs from other culture as people wanted

know what kind of food we prepared. l) with the word "internatlonal" ternfying and bewilden ng them,

not wanting to call It "Californla cUI"me." whatever the hell that b, we became more and

Mediterranean and more and more true to the _ urce. That's m ' ·tory ...Tl1mght' Ollr laot night ... (July 13, 1

Dail\" pecial
la 15, 19 4

Fedebm U Ith Tuna, Omons, Caper and lit lmonel Cake tilth (Janache and Rum Huttercrecml

Fettucane aUa Genotese ulth pmach Pmen\l[ Pu P try trau-berry Tart Ulith iascarpone

Lemon Rind, Golden Rat Ins. nd Cr am he
n bet erved with Tegole ~ookle
Gnlled Veal Chop U1th :11 crum and E lam ratm Pineapple lee Cream erved ulth Tegole Cookie

Pork Scalwpptne tilth 4ar ala \ m ar and Cr m
sened u~th Red 'UI Chard and ( om Fmter

ChIcken Fncas ee U Ith Meatballs hr and

Thyme en-oed U Ith Rl e

Daily Specials
Weekend of May 17, 1996

Pae1/LJ-SaJf)f'ron Rice u:ith Lobster, Prawns, Clams, Grilled Fillet of Beef with Red-W'me-Glazed Sha[lots
, served with Pota,to and Ce/.ery Roat Grat'm, and '
ChIcken Chorizo, Arnchokes, Favas, Peppers, Green Beans with Chives

and TomatoeS Grilled Sonoma Squab in a Moroccan Marinade of
Cumm, Cinnamon, Honey, and Sesame Seed,
, I Scaloppme ulth Mushrooms, Shallots, and served u,tth Couscous with Raisins and Orange,
and Carrots and Beets with Orange, Mint, and
\eaHa~elnHts, sen'ed WI'th T ag/"zann! U:'lthAsparagus,
1 Ginger

PrOSClHtto , and Peas Grilled Swordfish alla Puttanesca with Tomatoes,
Roast Halibut u'irh an Armenian Sauce of Roasted Capers, Olit'es, Garlic, Hot Pepper, and Basil,
sen'ed u'ith Oven-Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli
Peppers, Roasted Onions, Basil, Allspice, and and Caulzf/oU'er Gratin
Cmenne , send with Cracked \Vheat Pilaf,
Tagltarnu u'lth Asparagus, Mushrooms, Favas, and
Grilled Eg;;piant, and Sauteed Spinach (1Tt~molllta (Lemon, Garlic, Parsley)

Greek Mixed Grill-Lamb In SOIH laki Marmade, Vegetanan Paella u'ith Artichokes, Favas, Green
Beam, ZHcchinz, Peppers, and Tomatoes
send u,zth T-zatziki, Quail u ith Oregano,
- --------
Thyme, GarlIc, and Lemon, VJTapped III
Vine/earl's, arui Loukalllka (Pork at age lmh
Marjoram, Corutncier, range:e [, AllspIce, and

\X'ine) en cd ut!h Rlct' Pilaf tmh Eggplant,

Tonwroc.l, and Pinen!l!s, Spanakopita, and

ZUCChlru tllth Tomaroe and Dzlt



1996

First Course Main Course

Hot Lobster Vich,ssoise Eggplant-Crusted Maine Cod with Ba, Shriml>,
Th:yme-Roasted Vegetables and Port-Wine
with Melted Leeks and Potato Crisps Essence

open Ravioli of Srrwked Capon and Wild Pepper-Seared Salmon Fillet with Grain Mustard,
Braised Asparagus, and Roasted Creamer
Mushrooms in Sweet Garlic-Infused Pan Broth Potatoes or Simpl, Grilled with Select Steamed
Vegetables
Trio of Mullard Duck Preparations
Foie Gras Roulade, Confit and Chicory, Smoked Sesame-Glazed Tuna Steak with Roasted Fennel,
Braised Boo, Bok CIury, and Potato-Onion CGIce
Duck Sausage
Wood-Grilled Maine Lobster with Fragrant Truf/le
Sea Scallop Sandwiches Oil, Tiny Green Beans, and &sil-Essenced

in Crisp Porato Crusts and Citrus Juices Potato Puree
AService of Petrossian Ossetra Caviar Garlic-Crusted Chicken with Sfow..Roasted

in the Traditional Fashion Artichoke, a Puree of Barlitto Beans, Tomaro
Oil, and Fresh Rosemary
Salnd of Seasonal Lettuces and Herbs Veal Medallions with Wild Mushroom CarmdIoni.

CitTUS-Dijon Vinaigrette Tomaro Coofit, and Essence of Fmh S.
Saoory Celery Root Flan and Vegetables II la Grecque
Cervena Venison Pepper Steak with MusmOOln
EsJenCe of Sweet Garlic and Kalamata Olives Spaettle, Butternut Squash FIdn, and

Mar/cet Select O,SteTS Over Shaved lee Caramelized Parsnip
with ShoUot Mignonette and Caraway Crisps
Braised Pheasant with ChantereDe Risoao. Rodser'
Oak-Smolced Salmon with Vegetable-Citrus Salad
SmoIctd Salmon Mousse and Michael's SouTdough Cipollini Onions, and Sauce ofXiNnet SLilt
Toasts (or sen.oed naturally)
Grilled Dtu:k Escalope with PreKrwd fill. CriIt
Seared Fait Gras Escalope with Roosted Plums
Wild Mldlaoum Cripe and Baby Aruguja Leg "Beicnet" and Gm,er..Qaw.IIiQI,J .!,,;,:

charcoaled FiIlr Micnon ....

Pinor Nair, eo..rur, Poe-. l'UIIIIi,,"

Mortis, and Crisp p....

Cluis Schlesinger

THE EA:-.T COAST (JRILL
C wnr.ncigc, \l,,,,achmctt'

I traye\ed to diverse places-from Mexico to Thailand-and found that 1 really liked a lot llf the ,1"pect~
,~f the fo,~d. \Vhen I opened the East Coast Grill, I tried to come to an understanding of what thifl\:' ,,1\

these di\'erse foods had in common. When I look at my cooking, I think there are three major themes:

1) Mv love of h 'e fire-woad-burning stuff. The dynamic of going into the kitchen every day and cook-
ing with ,omethmg that is as uncontrollable as fire, as opposed to just going in and turning the oven
on to 350 or 375, is a constant challenge to me. Roasting whole pigs, grilling fish, or trying to keer

something from sticking-that dynamic IS ~o soulful and extends so much character into the food.
2) My other love as a cook that I de\'eloped while cookmg with )lInmy Burke at the Han'est [In

Cambridge, MAliS discovering and learning abnut new things all the time-getting a new food In and

learnmg about It and readmg about it.

3) The ,)ther aspect develored out of 111\ travel..; I' a deqre for J..:cply'f1at'orea food. \X1hat 1 ,tarted tn
work out was that, for a lot of Jlfft.'rent red dn,. cui. ine, th,lt are cb..;er to the equatm are m,lre fla-

vorful; they have deeper flavor' or c\earl.:f tllvor or u..;e ll1l1re ~rlce~.

There are different ll1utatl\. n at the Ea t Co.l,r l~nll \'1: r ll' The Rille Room. The Grill i, mme

traight-ahead eyuatonal cUI-ine-\\arm-\\c, h r UI me, {led together h their concentratlnn llt tla-

\,or--wlth a Itght barbe ue onent.HI m. The Blu R 111 h ! )mc \ t th,lt, hut WdS prubably grounJed
more In !t\·c fire, anJ loukm!.! It It\\: fife, r m r)t1 erie to h It tonc to 111.'. nh tll ~mllkt:r'! 01' .1 LOrn-

monallty among cUI-me.

Original Menu Item.,
cl (I: mber 1 5

SpICY Black B an mtp tt1th Satt a c r ram <'"n p, kl u uh hTlln/J (lnd Monkfish
11 un Barb!: u d Pork [klrenh
and Scallions and \Xa.sarn hrcdded. arch ( arulilla Pork BariJecHc
Stared Rau 'Irlom ulth Gmger Hlt.:kory, maked Duck ulth (;nlled PmeL pple and

Green alad ulth Cold 1annaced egctablc Tangy CllTI( ,Cilantro Ulaze
(mlled Lamb With lin/led Vegetable and <.inlled
Cold Gnlled Eggplant alaJ ulth (JI11 er and
u eet POU1CfJCS
aUzan e ame \'malgrette

keuer d Gnlled f nkflsh uuh mlthfield Ham and

( mentlne R " h 6,Proof ChoCl late Cake
,,'''''' P d 1i hnmp u th ( hl/X tie Ma'i and
Apple crudel
UIU<~1I. B ah1 (IuL auc.: MI 15 IPPI Mud ( ake
Br ad Puddm ulth Pear Brand
;nll.o>,i 1i u th (Jr

~----- ------- - - --- ~~

February 1996

Coriander-Crusted Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Wasabi. Liand Pan. and Jasmine Rice Cakes
Grilled Skewered Leg of Lamb with Saba Ganoush.
Salsa and Lime
Roasted Red-Pepper-Cucumber Salad. Preserved
Fettuccine Pasta with Oven-Dried Tomato Sauce. Lemon, Pomegranate Dressing. and Grilled Pita
Fresh Herbs. and Asiago Cheese Grilled Adobo-Rubbed Sirloin Steak with Pickled
Com Relish. Tamarind Ketchup, and "Damn
Blltrermilk-Fried Chicken Livers with Apple-Raisin Good Fries"
chutneY. Spinach. and Warm Bacon Dressing Spit-Roasted Herb and Lemon-Rubbed Chicken with
Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Seared Kale
Grilled Sausage from Hell and Cornbread Salad with
Hell Sausage. Lava Soaked Pineapples. and Lime- Sides

Guava Dressing Apple-Raisin Chutney
Spanish Rice
Middle EasteTTI Sampler Plate with Grilled Eggplant. "Damn Good Fries"

Raisin Couscous. OUves. Feta. Orange Cumin Seared Kale
Dressing. and Grilled Pita Vegetarian Rice and Beans
House Green Salad
Grilled Banana
Arugula Salad with Smoked Pears. Spiced Pecans. Grilled Pineapple
and Srilron Cheese
Pineapple Salsa
Ume and Chicken Soup with Com Tortillas Fried Plantains with Banana-Guava Ketchup
Cordiro
Grilled Salmon Fillet with White Grape-GarUc
Sauce , Ume Tomato Rioja, and Spanish Rice Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Caribbean-Style Spit-Roasted Pork Loin with West

Indies Beans and Rice. Jamaican Slaw. Grilled

Fennel, and Mango Marmalade

Grilled TIAM Steak with Pickled Ginger, Soy.



-----

Selected Main Courses
The Rattlesnake Club

Spring, 1996

Capdlini (Thin Angel Hair Pasta~ with Tomatoes, Striped Sea Bass Pan Seared with Oriental-Style
Garlic, and Basil or wIth Sauteed Rock Shnmp Vegetables and Chile Mashed Potatoes

Cratt'fish Risotto uith Roasted Red Pepper, Garlic, Lobster and Mixed Grain Risotto-Barley, Arborio
Rice, and Quinoa with Saffron, Basa, and Red
Su:eet Com, and Basil Pepper Sauces
Collection of Vegetables and Grains Grilled or
Breast of Free-Range Chicken, Garlic-Mashed
Steamed as a Mam Course Potato, Crimini Mushrooms, and Roasted Pepper
Herb-Crusted ?v1ahi Mahi, Ot'en-Baked u'ith Fennel Herb Glace

and Tomato, Saffron, and Balsamic Essence Medallions of Veal with Roasted Vegetables and
Freshu'ater Pickerel with Pinenut Crust, Lentils, and Gorgonzola Polenta

Tomato Sauce or Broiled with Fresh Herbs and Black Angus Filet of Beef Grilled with a Rhubarb
and Cipollm! Onion Compote, Red Wine
Lemon Essence or Grilled with Garlic-Peppercorn Butter
Crab and Salmon Cake with Maine Crab SpnnR
Rack of Lamb Roasted tvlth a White Bean,
Roll, Yellow Pepper Cream, and SpIced Chtle 011 Asparagm, and Eggplant Ragout
EscalDpe of Sterling Salmon CrisP)-\':'rapped In Potato

Crust ttith SheTTl' Mustard Sallce and Potato Crisp)

r 3'7

( V/r I d

Je liah Tower

STARS and J.T.'>

San FranCIscO . California

~'; ; 0 Cllled Caltfomia cuisine at its worst, made by the people who'd imitate it without understand Ing It In
' ,' .'
_< .

the first place, just got incredibly confusmg. At Stars, we ve always trled to fight agamst that "starch anU

three \.egetables on every plate" mentality. There's certainly an instinct for chefs and cooks to want t() 'IIf)

that all the nme. At J.T.'s, since it's small and it's got my name on it, 1 can really do my vision of wha 1

shan~like to do with food-which is to take the "with" off the menu. So, it will be lobster, braised lamb

and black truffles. I don't say "with," "with," "with"-l've taken everything else off the plate. So it's a per5-

fect sauce, perfectly braised lamb shanks, some big slices of spring garlic, some black truffles-and that,>
enough. I'm tired of seeing so many ingredients on the plate. That's where I came from in the first p\ace,

so I think I've come around full circle.

Stars

July 1984

Specials of the Day Salads and l)UP

First Course. Mixed Grct!n Salad with Vinaigrette and Tomatoes
I hxed Green Salad tt'ith Blue Chec$e Vinaigrette
Texas Ham uith a Japanese E{!RPlant Salad
Smoked Salmon with Gnlled Herb-Orl Bread (Inca Fe-Balboa Cafe (Jarden ~1ixed , alad tt'ith
Malpeque O)'sccr Sceu ULth Ancho hIli Butter awl Ha~elntt! 011

Chenzl Puree (larhc o"p with LlIJ'C LeaH and Herb Proficcrules

Pasta uith Alaskan Blue Praum, Red B Its P1 ta an I Fl h

Tomatoes, Bmrl, and Garlrc ubJcct to the \X hIm uf the Chef. rrict:~, Weacher,
and FI hmg CnndW{)l1
Grilled almon t.lith \ 'egetable Brochette awl
(mII nd 11 1I1 Com t.:
Ro emary MayonnaIse
ChI ken \lith Tarragon. ,ream, Mu hr Jom . and
Frllet of Beef m Broch u rth a Hor eradl h. Mil card RadIcchIO

Tarragon Cream • Gnlled ueetm-eads \lIth Am hoke and a \"(Ild
Mu hroom Butter
Appctt:er
Gnlled Aged eu York teak ulth Fne and a
Iced Oyster u1ch Pley Lamb au age Tarrag m Colbert Butler
~Illetles of moked FI h uuh Bitler Greens alad
I h Proliard u~th Tomatoes. Cllancro. and Chl\:e Blanqueue f\ al ulth Summer \. e Ilble and
BrIOChe U Ith Marroo, Lnb leT Sauce Poached
Crlt"tfl h auce
(wruc and Chenil
TUJI U Ith Ham nLaIuL()15 -Jrarra n and

(haT na

J.T.'s
Week of February 27-March 2, 1996

!-lors d'Oeuvre Choice of Main Course

Choice of First Course B~d ~merican Snapper with Herb Vegetable Salad

Block rruflk Cusrard with Sunchcks Pnme Fillet of Beef with Duxelle Potatoes and

Lirntswnt lettUCe with Ma,tag Blue Cheese and Pecan-Herb Salad

BrioChe Crouwns C~ Breast with Morels and Lobster Essence

Warm Foie Gras Sandwich BraISed Lamb Shank with Fava Beans and Stwift..
Osetra Caviar SenIice with Iced VodJca Garlic
Y"''6
Crab Ravioli with Block Truffles
sceamed Mussels in a SheU{ish Tarragon Sauce Saddle of Venison with Truffled Celery Root and
Cippolini Onions

Choice ofJ.T.'s Desserts

•

Sunday - - -----

Hors d'Oeuvres Varies Alice Wlters and Lindsey Shere
Daube d' Agneau
Salade CHEZ PANISSE
Lemon Mousse Berkeley . Callfornw

Monday Week of November 14,1971

Hors d'Oeuvres Varies Thursday
Manicotti and Meatballs
Salade Hors d'Oeuvres Varies
Biscuit Tortoni Steak au Poivre
Salade
Tuesday Profiteroles

Hors d'Oeuvres Varies Fnday
Pork Roast with Plums
Salade Tartcleues aux Poissons
Vanilla Bean Custard Can-oe and Orang-e Soup

Wednesday RIS de \leaH or Swffed Lamb
Salade
Hors d'Oew.:res Varies Frozen Chuw/atc Marquis
Lapin Saute Proven~al
Salade aturday
Fruit and Cheeses
Pate Matson
Cream of \Vatercre.ls soup

Puulet Valle d'Aug-e

Salade

Fruit al'Occitanienne

.

A la Carte

Dessert, Coffee, Estrresso, Steaks and Chops

320
y ArI





--

Rick Bayless

FRONTERA GRlLL and TOPOLOBAMPO
Chicago. Illinois

INGREDIENT S:

1. Beans. In my cooking, that's kind of my meat. I live on them.

. d I Idn't Il','e without making tortillas, so I'd really need that.

.'7 Dne corn. cou

3. Ancho chiles. Ancho has a deep sweetness to it.

4. Guajillo chiles. Guajillo has a really brIght spiciness and high acidity to it.

5. poblano chiles. Poblano is my fa\'orite of all the green chiles; it's got a trflemendous complexity of fla-

\'or, and I can turn it inside and out, doing e\'erything from using it as a avoring to using it as a veg-

etable.

6. Greens. I like greens in just about any \\'ay, and if I chose something like chard, I could use it raw,

braised, or mixed in with the corn or the beam and cooked that way.

7. Garlic. Garlic gives me a lot of different l1ptlOm fllr tlwor, whether It's raw or cooked or roasted. That
is one of the things that i~ ab'oluteh' t'"entlal With the cht!e~, tll add a lot of depth.

8. Onions. I could do a\\'av With ol1lom bdore I coulJ ~arl!c, but I \\'anteLI ~\.llne fresh fla\'\.)[S and (0 he

abl~ to add crunch and !I,'e!lne" to a cil h, '0 thdt' where {he onion, come in.

9. Sugar. I lm'e s\\'eet5, '0 I h,I\'e to ha,'c uoar. And I ,-oull even turn ~ome of these things into sweet
dishe<; that would reall} san,ty 111) weet tooth. I coulJ !I1dke cornhre,ld-hke rhln~s with the corn.

There are e\'en ,\reet hean dt-he In -:-'Iexlco a welL

10. Salt. Mexican food tend, to be fairly lW2h 10 oJlUm, bee mel he corn .m.! the he<m~ really need a fair

amount of ,;alt to ~et rhem to il place where the~ 're really tLl't).

TU.H lut f :

1. Grilling. It'- one of tho,e thing I wuldn't \i\'e wlthollt. I love mob, flavor, And they gu re,llly, real-

Iy well with the re t of [hI' tuff.

1 Boiling. You\e 0~ 0[ t 0 cook lorn dnd Ll'ean, il loni.! time_
3. Shallow-frying. ['m rdern.ng to when you cook omething lowly tor d long time, In Ju,r ,I [IllY bit of

01I, and It kinJ of g' et em t~'aJn you crare It all up.

" ' - - - _..

----- --------.------~-.- ..

324

a y ArI y

Ver<lCru:, Stvle Greens and Beans with Red Chile and Dumplings

by Rick Bayless

M,-\t;b AflOLJT 10 curs, "ERVI~G 6 AS A MAlt-< CnL:R,,~

1 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) dry black beans
4 stemmed, dried chipotle chiles (or canned chipotle chiles en adobo)
3 medium (1 1/2 ounces total) dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded

3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 small white onion, sliced

4 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil or rich-tasting lard

1 cup (8 ounces) fresh masa for tortillas

OR a generous 3/4 cup dried masa harina mixed with 2/3 cup hot water
salt, ahout 2 1/2 teaspoons
3/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) crumbled MeXican qucso fresco or pre 'sed salted farmer's cheese

6 cups stemmed, thickly sliced ~turJy green (such as lamb's quarters-quelites, chard, collard,

or practically any other-if you're cooking 10 texIco. try the Veracru: xonequi or quintoniles

or Yu atecan cha)'a)

1. The beans. Rin e the bean, then coop them mto a large (6-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven or a
Mexican earthenware olla), and add 2 \.juart of water and remove any bean that float. Bring to a boil,

reduce heat to medium-low, and Immer, partially covered, until the beans are thoroughly tender (they

will ta te creamy, not chalky), about 2 hour~. You'll need to ·tir the bean regularly and add water as

nece ary to keep the level of the liqUid a generau 1/2 inch above the level of the beans.

2. The chiles. While the bean are cooking. make the chile puree. On an ungrea ed griddle or heavy skillet

over medium heat, toast the dried chipotle , turnmg regularly and pre ing flat with a patula, until they

are very aromatic and a little toa ty mellmg, about 30 econd. (Canned chipotles need no prepara-

tion.)

On the same hot urface, toa t the ancho : open the chile out flat and. one or twO at a time, pre flat
for a few secoodsW'ith a metal patula until they tart to crackle. even sendupra T·amt WI. pofrnoke.
thhenflIp and press down to toast the other ide. In a mall bowl. cover both km. d 0 f toasted ch'Iles W.ith

Ot water and let rehydrate 30 minute tirring frequently to en ure even soaking. Drain and discard the

Water. •

v v g a cu •

(cantl"uLd from precedmg page) - the chiles with garh•c, oni•on, and about 1/2 cup water (YOU

In a food processor or blender, pureething freely moving through thebal des). Press through a mediu.

need a litt.le m.ore wabter tIoIget eIvery ucepan heat 2 tablespoons 0 f the 01'1 or Iard over me,dium_},i"';

mesh stramer_ mtIIo a ow. nda ta' rgneeasrlyacons'tantly as it sears and th'ICkens lror about 5 minutes

Add the puree a at once an s cIrhile puree into them, st.ir well, an.d simmer 3.0 mmutes.longer
the beans are tender, scrape the
.

3. The masa dumplings. In a large bowl, knead together (your hand works best here) the fresh or rec(lt\StI

tuted masa with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil or lard, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/4 cup of
chopped cilantro, and the cheese until uniformly mixed. Form into about 48 balls, each the size of a

marble. Cover and set aside.

4. Finishing the dish. Check the consistency of the black bean stew; there should be a good amount of

in the beans (you have to add the dumplings and greens and still come out with a stew-like corlSist:l!l
cy, so add additional water if necessary) and the broth should be as thick as a light sauce. (If it's not
thick as you'd like, puree a cup of the beans in a food processor or blender and return to the pot as
ening.) Liberally season the stew with salt, usually about 2 teaspoons (the beans themselves will

tinue to absortb the salt for quite a while after you season them).

With the pot simmering over medium, add the dumplings one at a time, nestling them into the RUrvlil
broth as they go in. Simmer 5 minutes, then add the greens; sur gently 50 as not to break up

dumplings, and simmer until the greens are fully cooked (about 7 mmut for tender greens like

10 to 12 minutes for tougher ones lake collard and lamb' quanen).

Ladle .into wann bowls, spnnkle laberally WIth the mnalrung chopped CIlantro, and serve with plenl11

steaming tortillas for a really satisfymg meal.

Daniel Boulud

RESTAURANT DANIEL
Neu York . New York

I~GREDlfNTS:

1. Onions. They come into many dishes in my hometown ... if I'm thOmk'mg about survl.vaI, I'd go back to

my fllotS.
? Tomatoes. I can eat them every day.

o·

3. A whole pig. It would carry me a while-I love ham, saucisson, confit, boudin! (See Daniel Boulud's
recipe t~)r Braised Spiced Pork Belly on pages 328-329.)

4. Two rabbits, one male and one female. In a few months, I'd have five hundred rabbits! And I could

live on just pig and rabbit.
5. Olive oil. You can cook anything with it; you can barbecue or stir-fry or make a dressing with it, and

it always tastes great.

6. Sea salt. I use fleur de sel, which is the top of the cru t when the sea dries. It's the most sophisticated

and refined salt-I u e it more for fini hing dishes.

i. Potatoes. I love potatoes-the \·ariation in cooking potatoe ' is endless.

'. Truffles, white and black. If lite i going to be tough, you might a well have it with truffle. And you
can do anything with truffle. You co uld put the black truffle with a baked potato....

9. Cheese. Aged goat chee e. I'd want it to be the kind I ate growing up in Lyon, like my grandmother
used to make.

10. Wine. Red wine, like a great Burgundy or MedoL

TE H IQl E :

1. teaming. It' healthy, and can alway be prepared with implicity. When you team something, the

idea i to flavor what you team in order to preserve the purity of the di h. I'd use this for seafood, fish,

hellfi h.
2. Braising. I'd use thi for roast and meat mostly, serving them with a basic jus.

3. Grilling. That' how I live and cook in the ummer. I love vegetables and whole fISh, like salmon.

cooked on the grill.

•

Braised Spiced Pork Belly

by Daniel Boulud
The in. gredients list may appear long, but any unavailable herbs and spices can be omitted or repIaceu With
ho t er~ .

SER\ EO; 6-8

one 4 lb. slab fresh, very lean pork belly
Spices

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 tea~poon black peppercorn.

1/4 tea'p n whole ck)n'~

_ plece~ ~tar ;111l-C

1 three-lOch I ng LlOnal11ll!1 t1l.:k
Herb

6 rt.! roem I)

_ ba lea\c
aoe

6 prt rh\me

28



Tcrr.lOce Brennan

PICHOLlNE
Net<' York, Net<' York

L (; RHll Io T 'i:

1. Olh·e oil. That's what 1 cook with-It reigns in the kitchen! It's healthy and tasty.

2. Garlic. I love garltc-it' very gutsy.
3. White truffles. Especially o\'er pasta.
4. Porcini. The greatest mushroom, In terms of flavor and texture.

5. Tomatoes. I love tomatoes, but only dunng the summer. (See Terrance Brennan's recipe for Poached
Halibut with Tomato Confit on page 331-332, whteh he says he devised "in order to extend the toma.

to eason !")
6. Bread. A good, crusty campa~e bread.
7 Cheese. With hread, chee e, ami wtne, you'd have a nice lunch. I'd want to take a basket of cheeses-

Bnn d'Amour, Cabralle- (a ~r m h blue hee e). Reblollchon, and Parmesan. which is arguably the
!!rearest chee. e 10 the w rid. It' the nl hee e \\ Ith L n enme cuisine behind it.

- Wine. I love \\ onderful, bH!, mcel 3g red \\ me
9. Peache.. Perfectly" In -np ned pe he - he 're pre t \\ nh blueberrie .

1 . Chocolate. I 1m chocollte.

r.

1. auteeing. It' the medIUm r lx ut percent f m cook mg.

2. Roa ting. I like the texture n 'I\e . Ilk the cn r) km n chicken.

3. Grilling. FIr the fla\or It \\e thr u h th "ood u ed, and for I lighme

-------- ------ --

.h d Day,Boat Halibut with Tomato Confit and Aged Balsamic Vinegar
PO~l e

by Terrance Brennan

1 With this dish in the early {all, in order to extend the tomato season a little more-I like keep-

ICJI11e Uf . on the menu as Iong as pOSSl'ULIe, s.mce we are a French-Mediterranean restaurant. Proven<;:al
1.09 wI.l1nWee,vident throughout the d.ish-ol.ive 01.1, bal.samiC vm. egar, eggplant. While halibut is fine

th,\,o'r,JaJrethink poaching I.S one 0 { the better ways 0 fco"okmg It and that it results in the best texture. This

",~ut.ee , re,'entn, tive 0{my sItye 0f CU.l.sme, .m that I.t,s l'Igh t yet f1 avorfu1 an d respectful of the fish itself,
dish 15 rer

SER\E~ 6

2 large eggplants (about 3 pounds),
split lengthwise

1 whole egg

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

salt and pepper to taste

6 ounce' extra \'Irgin ohve oil

I. Brush cut surface of eg["rplants with oltve oil.

2. Place cut surface down nn roa~t111\! r,Kkj place m < roa~tln~ pan.

3. Roast In a 325 0 o\'en for 1 hour anJ 15 ll111111tC', l\f until eggplant kin colbr es when touched; remove

irom lwen.

1. \X'hen Wl)l en,1ugh to handle, ,coop t1e,h out of eggpl,mt inro fme mesh ~tra111er; allow to drain one

hour.

5. Place dral11ed eggplant 111 {Ol)J rrece ..or, puree, and remove ro a mixl11g buwl.

6. Add eg~, tlour, garlic, .,alt, and perper.

-

I Blend t"'lether,
~ . Place I Ounce olive 011 in 1")-mch tetlon pan and hear.

9 Place 1 tablespoon of eggplant mixture In a medium-hOt pan and ,allte until edge: begtn w brown,

12, Turn over, lower heat, and cOl.k throu!:!h.

1\. Rttnnve and dr,lIn on rarer towel, place on bdk1l1g ~heet, and c ntinue untd all the 11llxture IS cone.

You houlJ ha\ e 1 to 2\.. pII.'Ce"

,::)C12, Place un a baking heet and heat [hem in ,I O\'en when you are ready to sen·e.

331



~---------------~~~------------------­
Gary Danko

INGREDIENTS:

I£'s the basis of life. It would satiate my palate.
I. SaIt.

..7 Olive oil. It's the healthiest oil in the world.

3. Wheat. I love the flavor of bread.

4. Maple syrup. I even eat it with yogurt. It's a childhood thing.
5. yogurt. I eat it every day. I love a good yogurt, like Nancy's (which is made in Oregon).

6. Basil. I love basil.
7. Tomatoes. Another childhood thing-I love tomatoes.
8. Duck. It's plain, flat-out simple and delicious. There is no comparison to a beautifully roasted duck that

you've rubbed with salt and lemon juice-to me, that is like heaven.
9. Raspberries. I love them, and they've typically got more flavor than strawberries.
10. Butter. It's one of the gifts of nature-and no animal died to make it.

TECH IQVE :

I. Roasting. It' imple and efficient and delicious. Some of the best foods are done that way from duck

(0 vegetables.

2. Braising. It's another way of developing flavor, and a treamlined way of preparing a dish and sauce at

the same time.

3. Grilling. Proper grilling is done when the flames are imply glOWing emhen. not big licking flames that

leave carbon deposits on the meat.

Duck Prosciutto

by Gary Danko

This is a delicious dish, made with an ancient method of preservation. You can hang it for 15 to 30 da

manner~depending on how dry you want it. I make them 40 at a time! I like serving it in the traditional

with half of a peeled ripe fig, some melon or slices of pear, shaved fennel and arugula, or drizzled with fen-
nel oil.

1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf, ground

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, cracked
1 teaspoon black peppercorns. cracked

1 large Barbarie or moulard duck hrea ·t. abl1L1t 1 pound

1. Combine salt with sp\Ce~ anJ herb.

2. Trim duck breast of exces~ kll1, tenderloin. and Ille\\ . Ruh pice mix into hre, "t. Place on a plate and

wrap with plastic wrap. Cure for 24 hour or Ion d. Bm hoff e l.e rub, \\TdP Ill. Lhct' ec10th anJ hang

in cooler for 15 Jays. Trim exee ,tat. ltee \el) thlll. Th pro Ilitto may h trll:en anJ cut on .J meat

slicer.

- -- - --~~

Su~an Feniger

BORDER GRILL
Santa M()nIca , California

INC.RFDIENTS:

1. Olive oil. I love the flavor of a really strong, fruity olive oil-over cheese, over vegetables, on bread.

2, Vt.oegar'I'd nee.d an acid of some sort. I love vinegar with olive oil ' and when I rnake stews, ll'Ike to

finish them with an aCid.
3. Cheese. A great feta, I love a great cheese-I can always eat it.
4. Avocados. Really satisfying to eat again and again, like artichokes, (See Susan Feniger's recipe for

Avocado Corn Relish on page 336.)
5. Tomatoes. As a side. I need some balance--everything so far is too rich.

6. Green beans. I need a vegetable. I'm thinking of combinations of things. I could stew them with toma-

roes and feta, or have them with olive oil and vinegar.

7. Salt. Avocado, olive oil, and salt. I can't think of a more perfect dish.

S. Bread. A great bread, like a great sourdough, with a lot of crust.
9. Olives. Dry-cured black olive - of some !>ort. I hke :nackmg food, I like to pick like that-some olives,

some feta ...

10, Chocolate. ometimes you need ~omethmg weet, even ju ·t a little bit. I'd take a high-quality semi-

sweet chocolate.

After being told which of their mgredient were the ~ame, usan Feniger went on to correctly guess

each of the re t of her partner Mary ue Milliken' Ii t!

TECH ' IQVE :

1. Grilling. You can do anything on a grill. I like to grill; you can bake in the charcoal, you can grill or
saute or boil on a grill.

2. Sautee·mg. I would want to be able to cook thing quickly.

~ . Stewing. I love soups--l think they're comforting. A one-pot meal is easy and can last for day.

a

Avocado Corn Relish

hy Su~an Feniger

In thi, refre~htng relish. cor,n kernels.are lightly cl)oked just to develop the. ir flavor and then mi.xed w h

chunks of smoky roasted chiles. lUXUriOUS, avocodo and cr.unchy s. harp sc' allions. Such a fabulous reII' h It
ea 'i\y take the. plac.e of a cooked sauce with casual foods liked g"nlled brt steak or fish and it .gaL~. ~can
buffet tables stnce It complements so many foods. We have been known to eat this relish off the on

with nothing more than tortillas and be quite content. Poon or

3/4 cup olive oil
4 cups fresh com kernels (about 5 ear)

1 table 'poon salt
3/4 tablespoon fre hly ground black pepper

2 avocado. peeled and seeded
I large red bell pepper. cored and seeded
4 poblano chile. r a ted. peeled. and seeded

4 scallion. whIte and ltght green pan ,thmly It ed on the daagonal

1/2 cup red wme vm r

1. Heat 1/2 cup of the olive otl In a large kill t ver medIUm heat ut~ the com wiIh

per. about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large mlxmg bowl and t asKIe t.

2. Cut the avocados• bell pepper. and r 1
With the scallions red me v a n - i n c h
utes to blend the flay megar. and mnammg 1 .. cup 01.

3 at room temperatuIe. Com rei

nsb 2 to 3 an advance

.... DUX



Roasted Chicken

by Jllhanne Killeen and George Germon

SER\E~ 6-8

2 whole chickens (about 3 pounds each). washed and dried
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 head garlic

2 large onions (I pound), peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thinly
2 cups ripe cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine

2 heads fresh watercres • wa'hed and trimmed

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.
2. Liberally salt the in ide and au Ide of the chIcken. Lay them hrea t ide up in a casserole with a tight-

fitting lid. Break up the head of garbc, lea\'ing the kin on, and catter the garlic cloves around the chick-
en. along with the anton ltce. Add the cherry tomatoe and pour over the olive oil and wine.

3. Cover the casserole and roa t the chIcken for 1/2 h ur. Tum the chicken breast lde down and,..
another 1/2 hour. Uncover the ca ser Ie and ru t about 15 minut until the skin has browned; tum the
chicken brea t ide up and roa t an additional 15 mmut to brown. t the chick

place to re t for 10 minute.

4. Lay the watercre out on a large. warm rving platter, top wlth the chlCkens and IOIIWl

aiel."the watercress wilt. and serve at once WIth the remalmng uce pared in

,....- -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -

JO)'Le Goldstein

JOyce Goldstein agreed to answer our question on one condition'. "It's got to be aMed'Iterranean .IS1andi.n

INGREDIENTS:

I'd want to make pasta, bread, pizza.

I. Wheat.

l . potatoes.

3. Atree that growS both lemons and oranges. Citrus is one of the great balancers in my food-it adds

sparkle.

4. Acow or a goat. For milk, cheese, yogurt.

5. Grapes. Wine enriches your life.
6. Spinach. One of the most satisfying vegetables 1 know. (See Joyce Goldstein's spinach salad recipe on

page 340.)

7. Chicken. For eggs, soup.

8. Olives. For olive oil-plus 1 like them hy themseh-es.
9. Mushrooms, They're like meat . And they're vcry \er~atLlc.

10. Vegetables. Asparagus, peas, eggplant!

Tl:.CH IQt b:

1. Sauteeing, I'm a line cook-l lo\'e the energy of keeping all the hurner~ going!

2. Braising. There's nothing like the smell when ,omethtng's braistng.

3. Grilling. llove the smell and the crunch ( f the texture and the char. The power of the gnlll' pnmative,

cf " u5 339
I II n 9 a



Hubert Keller

FLEUR DE LYS
:illn Franmco, CalIfornia

I (:HrrllTNTS:

I. \,\<h'aIllnnrdiIlwlaahICiecenecIcrer\Iea'mamm, gr.riogTwhh\tIi.1,f.rgoISmuap,ftlhaaevnodmr IaI,cdlhoaivlnweea,fyrtoshmrbeeec hilJhood ' My father used to rnake"It In h'IS pastry
nearby with a spoon anU" a bowI, You have to eat
under.
minutes before it's done, so it's just a little

Vnndla i, a fla\'or that's great for creme anglaise, sorbets, or anything! It's absolutely the best,

desrlte all the complicated flavors out there.
1 Caviar. Not because it's expensive- I Just love to eat it with a spoon, as long as it's fresh and not

-' ovwalted. Irs creaminess and texture are unique. (See Hubert Keller's recipe for Cauliflower

puree with Caviar on pages 342-343.)
3. Rose hip jam. My father still sends it to me! It's an elegant confiture. My grandmother used to

make a syrup of rose hip, and we would add water and make it into a drink like lemonade when

we were children.
4. Caprina [the Bra:ilian national drink]. My wife and I sen'e it at home at the start of parties. It gets

a rarty going in a hour!
5. Limes. Lime goes with the Caprina!
6. Champagne. It's festl\'e, and great for 'pecial occa,ion,. In a recent article about what chefs have in

their refrigerators, all of us had champagne~ Mme 31,0 h,lll r e hip Jam-and chocolate, for my wife.

7. Rack of lamb. It\ the meat I eat the rna t. L1rnb i very Imrie; imply roa~t it and add some roast

garltc and a simple, uncomplicated auce .

. Wild strawberries [fraises des bois]. It' a fancy thing. A • kid, my parents had a house in the

mountains, and we would pick them In the wood . Their t1avor cannot be beaten. They're like the

ultimate Jewel, or diamond - 0 full f flavor! And I could put them on my ice cream.

9, Oysters melon triple-zero). They're big, but not owrp wenng- 0 delicate, you could eat one

or twelve.

\" Truffle. It' an ingredient that I a mira Ie. With all the money,cienti t ,and technology, these
are onl~' a product of nature. And With crambled egg, they're the ulttmate!

TELH IQlE :

I. Roasting (with a convection oven). We TO t percent of ollr fl h thi way. It seal in the juices
and flavor. We de everything thi \\"ay-small cur- of flh and meat, even scallops--and let it re t
for three minutes, Just like meat. And all our cooks have mall pray bottle of oil, (0 pray the meat.

2. Braising. liVing in a fa t-paced world, there i no time (0 cook anymore. Thi take longer, but

~ou get to use cheaper cut of meat that have a lot of flavor. We'll do braised lamb next to lamb

3 10m or chop, for c mtrast n the plate. It' a forgotten techniyue that has great delicacy.
Pan-frying. It' a technique ou'd u t r veal medallion or thin cut of meat. Or for vegetable

or potat , to gIVe them cn pne .

c1