Have Blade Will Travel: The adventures of a traveling chef (19 page)

Truffles are an incredible gastronomic delicacy, like no other food in the world, and they figure significantly in classical French cuisine.  They are also an intriguing food fabled for centuries for their mystical and aphrodisiac qualities.  As early as first century AD Roman satirist Juvenal told the Libyans, “Keep your wheat, and send us your truffles.”

Van Erp had also attended the auction of Her Majesty’s Ship Queen Elizabeth, sometime after her de-commission in 1968, where he purchased a set of heavy-gauge copper pots – the most extraordinary cookware I had ever seen.  Thick stainless-steel on the interior, copper on the exterior, with brass rivets securing the brass handles, they were a joy to cook with.  As the unofficial commis at the club, well aware of the high caliber of this cookware, I took it upon myself to keep the copper exterior spotless shiny at all times. 

Interestingly, my arrival at the club was somewhat auspicious, gastronomically-speaking, because the chef was in the midst of his end-of-the-year hunt buffets and dinners for the club members.  This was, after all, the raison d’être for the club’s existence – the members would go out to hunt boar, deer, partridge, pheasant, quail, and woodcock; the maintenance staff would pluck and gut the critters; and the chef would prepare a series of dinners and game buffets into the new year.  The food was, in a word, astounding.

The following menu epitomizes the caliber of food that was issued from Chef van Erp’s kitchen.  This menu was from a hunt buffet dinner at the club, on January 3, 1976 – as always, written in French with English subtitles:

The Dutchess Valley Rod and Gun Club presents,

Peter Van Erp, Maître de Cuisine

Les Frivolitées Chaud et Froid

Buffet Froide  •  
Cold Buffet

Saumon au Rivière Columbia, en Gelée, Sauce d’Aneth

Columbia River Salmon in Aspic, Dill Sauce

Gigot de Chevreuil en Gelée, Berrichonne

Leg of Roe Deer in Aspic, Berrichonne Style

Salade de Laitue et Tomates

Lettuce and Tomato Salad

Buffet Chaud  •  
Hot Buffet

Crevettes en pâte, Sauce Chutney

Shrimp in Beer Batter, Chutney Sauce

Consommé de Tortue Claire

Clear Turtle Consommé

Pâté de faison, Cumberland Sauce

Venaison Pâté, Cumberland Sauce

Les Perdreaux Braisée, àl’Alsacienne

Braised Partridge, Alsace Style

Les Faison Rôti, Gastronome

Roast Pheasant, Gourmand Style

Riz Sauvage Mélange

Wild Rice Medley

Choux Rouge Braisée, Normande

Braised Red Cabbage, Normandy Styl
e

Les Endives de Bruxelles, Étuvées

Braised Belgian Endive

Purée d’Artichaud en Timbale

Artichoke Mousse Timbale

Marrons Glacée

Glazed Chestnuts

Fromage Assortis

Assorted Cheese

Soufflé au chocolat

Chocolate Soufflé

Roulade de pomme, Autrichienne

Apple Strudel

Café, Thé

Coffee, Tea

― ● ―

NB: The following recipes represent a selection of the author’s favored items from this menu, that the reader may enjoy preparing.

Crevettes en pâte, Sauce Chutney
(Shrimp in Beer Batter, Chutney Sauce)

Chutney Sauce is the ideal accompaniment for anything battered and deep-fried – consisting of equal parts mango chutney, canned pineapple, and prepared horseradish puréed in a food processor.  The combination of flavors is extraordinary.

To prepare the beer batter, season a bowl of beer with a little salt and paprika, then sprinkle all-purpose flour into it and whip it until smooth and roughly the thickness of pancake batter.  Dust raw, peeled and deveined shrimp in salt-and-pepper-seasoned flour, dip into the batter, and deep-fry at 365-degrees until golden brown.  The fried shrimp can be held on absorbent paper in a warm oven until ready to serve.

― ● ―

Pâté de Faison, Sauce Cumberland
(Pheasant Pâté)

For the sauce

1 cup (240 mL) currant jelly

½ cup (120 mL) port wine

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon (15 mL) each orange zest and lemon zest

1 teaspoon (5 mL) grated ginger root

pinch of cayenne pepper

• Blanch the zest one minute in boiling salted water; drain and reserve.  Simmer the remaining ingredients for 10 minutes.  Add zest, allow to cool, refrigerate until ready to serve.
  

For the marinade

the juice and zest of 1 orange

¼ cup (60 mL) onion, sliced very thin

6 juniper berries

½ cup (60 mL) dry red wine

2 garlic cloves, pressed

For the pâté

2 pounds 1 kg) boneless, skinless pheasant meat, cut into ½-inch (1.25 cm) pieces

¾ pound (3 kg) bacon, cut into ¼” (.6 cm) dice

1 pound (½ kg) salt pork, trimmed of rind, cut into ½-inch (1.25 cm) strips

½ cup (120 mL) Panko bread crumbs, moistened with white wine

½ cup (120 mL) pistachio nuts, toasted and quartered

For the spice mix

1/8
^th
teaspoon (pinch) each ground allspice, nutmeg, basil, marjoram, thyme and

white pepper

¼ teaspoon (1 mL) salt

• Marinate the meats overnight, refrigerated.  Remove and discard the marinade ingredients, except the onion.
  
• Grind the meats and onions twice – once through a large-holed plate, then through a small-holed plate, adding the seasoning and wet breadcrumbs as you grind. 
  
• Coat the inside of sixteen timbale molds with butter and refrigerate until ready to fill.
  
• Take small spoonful of the farce and poach in a little simmering water for 5 minutes.  Remove and taste for seasoning – then adjust as needed.
  
• Fill the molds with the farce, cover with plastic wrap, place into a hot water bath, and bake at 350-degrees F (190-degrees C) for 45 minutes.  Remove, invert, and serve with the Cumberland Sauce.
  

NB: This pâté is a bit unusual because it is served warm – although it is typically served chilled.

 
― ● ―

Mélange de riz sauvage
(Wild Rice Mélange)

1 cup (240 mL) wild rice

1 cup (240 mL) basmati rice

1 cup (240 mL) hot chicken stock

1 cup (240 mL) kasha (buckwheat groats)

unsalted butter as needed

1 bunch scallions, finely sliced

• Boil the wild rice in 3 cups (720 mL) of lightly salted water until tender (about 45 minutes).  Drain and set aside.
  
• Pour the basmati rice into the hot chicken stock, blend well, cover, simmer 10 minutes, then pull from the stove and allow to sit 20 minutes.
  
• Stir the kasha into 2 cups (480 mL) of boiling water, simmer 10 minutes, then cover and set aside.
  
• Sauté the scallions in a half stick of butter for 5 minutes.  Add the grains, blend, and season with salt and pepper.
  

NB: Additional garnish may be added, such as sautéed mushrooms, toasted slivered almonds, toasted walnut pieces, dried currants and/or dried cherries.

― ● ―

Choux rouge braisée, Normande
(Braised Red Cabbage, Normandy-style)

1 small head red cabbage, cut into medium dice

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut into medium dice

½ cup (120 mL) dark brown sugar

½ cup (120 mL) red wine vinegar

pinch of kosher salt

• Place all the ingredients into a sauce pan, cover, and simmer slowly 1 hour, stirring frequently.
  

― ● ―

Endive de Belgique, Braisée
(Braised Belgian Endive)

6 medium or 3 large Belgian endives

2 tablespoons (60 mL) unsalted butter

1 pint (½ liter) hot chicken stock

1 cup (240 mL) dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste

• Trim the bottoms from the endives, and if using 3 large, cut them in half lengthwise.
  
• Sauté the endives gently in the butter, turning them to get them coated in the butter.  Season with salt and pepper, then add the wine and stock, and simmer covered 20 minutes.  When they are tender, remove from the fire.
  

NB: Though Braised endive has a slightly bitter flavor, it is one of the great treasures of the vegetable realm.

 
― ● ―

Ragout de Venaison, Bourguignonne
(Venison Stew, Burgundy-style)

½ cup (120 mL) fatty bacon or fat back, cut into ¼-inch dice

1¼ pounds (1.75 kg) venison meat from the leg or shoulder, cut into ½-inch dice

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thin sliced

1 heaping tablespoon (20 mL) flour

dry red Burgundy wine as needed

the zest from one orange

½ cup (120 mL) tomato purée

1 cup (240 mL)pearl onions

1 bay leaf

• Render the bacon or fat back over medium heat until lightly browned.  Remove the bits and reserve, then turn the fire up, add the venison, and brown lightly.  Add the garlic, sauté briefly, then sprinkle with a little flour.  Blend the flour into the fat and juices, then pour in the wine and tomato, and blend well.  Add the bay leaf and the bacon bits, and simmer covered 45 -to-75-minutes, or until the venison is tender.
  
• In the meantime, blanch the onions in boiling salted water about 5 minutes.  Drain, cool, peel, and set aside.  Add the onions to the stew at the half-hour mark.
  
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with egg noodles.
  

 
― ● ―

Le faison rôti à la strasbourgeoise
(Roast Pheasant, Strasbourg-style)

1 fresh young pheasant, fully dressed

salt and pepper

onion, lemon, celery tops as needed

6 slices bacon

3 cups (720 mL) sauerkraut

½ pound (¼ kg) small pork sausages, or the equivalent

• Rinse the pheasant well, and pat dry.
  
• Season the cavity with salt and pepper, and stuff with chopped onion, two lemon halves, and some celery tops.
  
• Slide two slices of bacon in between the breast skin and meat.  Tie a slice of bacon onto each of the two legs, then truss the bird.
  
• Roast the bird in a preheated 375-degree F (190-degrees C) oven for 1 hour, adding the sausages after 45 minutes .  Pour the white wine over the bird, and continue roasting for 15 minutes.  Remove and set aside.
  
• Remove the bacon from the breast and the legs, cut into smaller pieces, and add to the sauerkraut along with the pan juices and the sausages.  Heat the sauerkraut, arrange on a serving platter, and serve the pheasant on top.
  

NB: You may wish to serve a Madeira Sauce – a demi-glaze flavored with Madeira wine and beaten with butter.

 
― ● ―

Peter van Erp’s
Food Preparation à la Carte
– the production kitchen at the Institute where the food was prepared for guests dining in the Escoffier Room – was one of the most popular classes in the entire curriculum, since the instructor represented such a rich source of knowledge and experience.  The course menus were typed out on sheets of paper, without any recipe information, after which we would go about prepping the dishes, station-by-station, and which would later be prepared “à la Carte” as they were ordered from the dining room. 

The menus created by van Erp remain a rare resource in our time, especially since Classical Cuisine has suffered many setbacks in recent years, falling virtually into oblivion as the latest-and-the-newest nouvelle style hits the media waves and the kitchens of the world.  Molecular gastronomy was one such wave, which I found irritatingly blasphemous – given the multi-morphing that the food ingredients go through, and a clear instance of chefs playing excessively with their food.  Paul Bocuse’s dictum, “The best food is the simplest food,” seems to be lost on recent generations of cooks, chefs and cuisiniers.