Chef's Table - July and August
Chef John Zehnder, CEC, ACET, AAC, OGT
What is the Best Barbecue Sauce?
My usual response is it all depends on where you stand geographically in the United States. Midwestern folks like sloppy thick tomato sauces while BBQ aficionados in the Carolinas prefer a more vinegar flavored sauce and Deep South BBQ is all about “dippin’ sauces”. There’s another category of barbecue sauces typically found in regions settled by German immigrants in the hill country of Texas, mid-Michigan and in Pennsylvania. Those sauces are mustard based and are most often used as dipping sauces with pork and home made soft pretzels.
We even use mustard barbecue sauce as a topping on bratwursts here in Frankenmuth. Some of these sauces call for beer, but all have mustard, apple cider vinegar and either molasses or brown sugar as a common ingredient. Germans seem to be partial to the taste of sweet mustard versus tangy hot mustard!
A little secret to success – let the flavors of a mustard barbecue sauce “marry” overnight in the refrigerator before you use it. Makes all the difference in the world.
GERMAN STYLE MUSTARD BARBECUE SAUCE
2 cups prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup molasses
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup honey
1 ½ TBSP vegetable oil
1 tsp. oregano flakes*
½ tsp. crushed thyme*
½ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne
*Even better if you use fresh picked herbs – just double the amount vs. dry.
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.2. Whisk all ingredients well and turn on medium heat.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer for ten minutes stirring to prevent burning.
4. Refrigerate overnight and stir well before using.
Chef's Table - May and June
Chef John Zehnder, CEC,ACE, AAC
The Long Anticipated Arrival of Spring
Spring in Michigan is one of those odd times of the year when it’s 84 degrees one day and two days later it snows. Peas, rhubarb and strawberries are some of those first crops associated with spring, but the most noble of all the early delicacies is asparagus. Roman emperors so enjoyed it that they had special ice caves constructed for freezing massive amounts of asparagus. Chariot runners would race the freshly picked shoots up the mountains where the asparagus was packed in snow so it could be served at lavish banquets throughout the year. Nowadays asparagus is available almost year round, but there’s nothing like locally grown tender asparagus for intense flavor and crispness. One of my favorite ways to enjoy asparagus, in addition to just steaming it and hitting it with a touch of butter, is to make cream of asparagus soup.
It’s easy to make and has the wonderful flavor of spring.
CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP
Serves Four
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup chopped fresh asparagus
1 small onion – diced
1 TBSP butter
1 cup half & half
salt/ground black pepper to taste
1 to 2 tsp. arrowroot or corn starch
METHOD
• Add broth to medium saucepan and toss in asparagus.
• Saute the onion in butter and add to the broth/asparagus.
• Bring to boil and simmer until asparagus is tender.
• Drain and puree asparagus in food processor or blender.
• Return asparagus to broth and whisk in ¾ cup half & half over low heat.
•
Stir ¼ cup of cold half & half with arrowroot and stir into the soup.
• Slowly return to a boil stirring constantly to avoid scorching.
• Soup should thicken slightly but shouldn’t be like pea soup thickness.
• Remove from heat and add salt/pepper to taste.
You can use cornstarch in the place of arrowroot, but cornstarch will thin out if the soup is held for more than ten minutes at medium heat. Flour and cold half & half will also work, but you’ll loose some of the flavor of the asparagus.
Personally, I like to hit this soup with a shot or two of Tabasco Sauce. Doesn’t add any noticeable heat, but does add a bit of background zip to the soup.
Chef's Table - March and April
Chef John Zehnder, CEC, ACE, AAC
March and April are those transition months each year when winter begins to release its icy grip and everything outdoors seems fresh and alive. St. Patrick’s Day and Easter are the two holidays we normally associate with these two months. Hey, if you’re Irish St. Patrick’s Day is THE holiday of the year! St. Patrick’s Day cuisine - corned beef and cabbage – is always predictable, but Lent and Easter give chefs an opportunity to think creatively about our menu offerings.
Many still hold to the Lenten custom of meatless Fridays and it’s always surprising here at the restaurant the number of seafood and non-meat requests we get each week. For the past two years we’ve served a Lenten dinner of the month featuring tipalia. Tilapia is an interesting fish in that it is the most successful farm raised fish commercially available. Native to South America where it has been raised for several decades, tilapia has quickly moved to the dinner tables of America because of its mild white flesh and affordability.
Chefs often refer to tilapia in the same way they talk about chicken breast – a “blank slate”. Chefs can create almost any flavor combination to go with this mild flavored fish; exotic or simple, savory and sweet.
Here’s one of my personal favorites – served four
BROILED TILAPIA PARMESAN
½ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup butter- softened
3 TBSP mayonnaise
2 TBSP lemon juice
¼ tsp. dry basil leaves
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp. celery salt
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup olive oil
2 lbs. tilapia fillets (4/8 oz. fillets)
METHOD
Pre-heat broiler to medium hot. Mix all ingredients, except the fillet, in a bowl and set aside. Lightly grease your broiler tray or aluminum foil covers cookie sheet with olive oil. Place fillets on greased pan and broil for about two minutes on each side. Remove from oven and spread Parmesan mixture evenly over the top side of each fillet. Return to broiler and allow to get lightly browned.* Serve with a tossed green garden salad and a rice pilaf or olive oil tossed pasta.
*Follow the tried and true maxim for cooking fish – “if you’re not quite sure it’s done – take it of the oven”. There’s nothing worse than overcooked fish!
ENJOY!
Chef's Table - January and February
Chef John Zehnder, CEC,ACE, AAC
In mid-November I traveled to Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky.
Sullivan University’s National Center for the Culinary Arts is one of the top culinary programs in America. I was honored to receive their 2009 “Distinguished Visiting Chef” award. Quite an honor considering past recipients include Emeril Lagasse, Martin Yan, Louis Osteen and Rick Tramonto. The award program is designed to connect students with today’s top chefs. The two-day program included performing a series of cooking demos for the students and Q&A sessions where students could find out more about what it’s like to be a chef in today’s economy. While in Louisville I had dinner with one of my favorite chef friends, Chef Dean Corbett. Chef Dean is the chef/owner of Louisville’s most prestigious restaurant, Equus. Chef Dean and I have a lot in common since we’re both very involved with heirloom recipes and returning to the past to find creative ideas that then can be incorporated into modern contemporary dishes.
One of Equus’ signature dishes is Chef Dean’s grandmother’s recipe for Swedish meatballs with mushroom stroganoff sauce. He was kind enough to share it with me, so in turn I’m going to share it with you.
NANA’S SWEDISH MEATBALLS & MUSHROOM STROGANOFF
Serves 4 to 6
Get started the day before you plan to serve these: the seasoned ground beef mixture chills overnight in the fridge to allow flavors to deepen.
Serve over buttered wide egg noodles – you’ll need to cook about a half pound for this recipe.
Meatball Recipe
1 lb. ground beef
¼ cup ketchup
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
½ cup very finely chopped onion
½ cup Pet evaporated milk
2 cups finely crushed cornflakes
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using a fork or clean hands, blend well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Form the meatball mixture into 1 ½ inch balls and arrange on foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake meatballs until just cooked through – about 25 minutes.
Set aside until sauce is ready.
Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 large onion – julienne
1 lb. baby portabella mushrooms – sliced ½ inch thick
1 cup dry red wine
4 cups beef broth – canned
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sour cream
2 TBSP chopped fresh chives or ½ TBSP freeze dried chives
Melt butter with vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and saute until clear. Add the mushrooms and saute until they begin to soften – about five minutes.
Transfer the onions & mushrooms to a bowl.
Add the wine to the skillet and increase heat to high heat. Cook until wine is reduced in half.
Add beef broth and cook until it’s reduced by twenty-five percent.
Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream and sour cream.
Add the mushroom/onion mixture back into the skillet.
To serve simply toss the cooked wide egg noodles with a third of the sauce.
Top each serving with several meatballs and spoon on remaining sauce.
Garnish with chopped chives.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
John Zehnder, Certified Executive Chef
Director of Zehnder's Food & Beverage
jzehnder@zehnders.com
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