I am thrilled to have just posted an exciting new Novice2Pro interview with Executive Chef Bertrand Chemel. It’s a great read for anyone interested in food especially if you are thinking of going to culinary arts school to start a career in the food industry.

Chef Chemel, previously executive chef at Café Boulud in New York City, and now executive chef of 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, VA. He answers my questions about where he learned his craft, what he looks for in hiring new cooks, favorite cookbooks and a lot more. You can read the entire interview here.

I asked Chef Chemel if he had a signature dish or favorite recipe and here is how he responded:

“I don’t have a signature dish, because I like my recipes to remain fresh for both my clientèle and myself. I do happen to favor some ingredients however – for instance, I love to prepare dishes with black truffles, because they have a very intense and interesting flavor. I am happy to share the following recipe for Ricotta Gnocchi, which features black truffles and is simple to make at home.”

Ricotta Gnocchi

• 7 oz. sheep’s milk ricotta (strained, firm)
• 2 oz. potato (baked, skin on)
• 1 oz. all purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• ¼ lb baby Brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
• 4 tablespoon breadcrumbs (Italian or panko)
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 teaspoon (12 grams) fresh Black Truffle (or quality canned), chopped
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoon dry white wine
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream

Method:

1. Bake the potato in foil at 375 degrees until soft, about 45 minutes, and while still hot, pass through a potato ricer into a mixing bowl to get rid of the skin. Measure the amount of potato you need based on the scale of recipe you are making, add the strained ricotta while still warm and sprinkle mixture with the flour and salt.

2. Mix gently to combine and using a lightly floured work surface roll the mixture into ¼ inch logs about 12 inches in length. Cut into ½-inch rectangles, place gently onto floured parchment lined sheet pan, and refrigerate until ready to cook.

3. Bring 6 quarts of heavily salted water to a rapid boil and cut the brussel sprouts into fourths and drop into the water and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes until soft, remove and place in bowl of ice water to shock and stop cooking, then drain and reserve.

4. Meanwhile, bring a sauté pan to high heat and once the sprouts are dry, add olive oil, and sauté them until slightly brown, add the bread crumbs, sauté 2 minutes more, then add the butter and let brown for 1 minute and take off heat.

5. In a medium saucepan, sweat the shallot, and black truffle in a little olive oil over low heat for 3 minutes, add the white wine, reduce until the shallots and truffles are glazed, then add the heavy cream and simmer over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce is just slightly thick in consistency.

6. Drop the gnocchi in the same pot of water used to cook the brussel sprouts, making sure that the water is boiling rapidly and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the gnocchi rise to the top of the water, remove with a strainer and add to the cream mixture, stir and serve. Top with the brussel sprouts and grated Parmesan.

A Chef’s Secret’s to the Best Risotto Recipe Ever

I have made lots of risotto meals over the years and they usually turn out pretty good but the other night I made a simple Asparagus Risotto that was the best I’ve ever made. Some of my other favorite risotto recipes include Basic Risotto with Shrimp,  Risotto Milanese  and Wild Mushroom Risotto.

What inspired me to make the Asparagus Risotto is a wonderful little book by Chef Robert Reynolds called An Excuse to Be Together. It’s not really a cookbook like we think of, although it has numerous incredible recipes, but more of a dialogue with the reader about Chef Reynolds experiences in France shopping for amazing local ingredients and then preparing them with his students.

I have his book next to my bed and every so often I pick it up and read a chapter to get inspired about food and learn a new trick or two from Chef Reynolds. That’s how I came across his recipe for a simple Asparagus Risotto.

By the way, Chef Robert Reynolds was trained in France by Madeline Kamman and is an experienced restauateur and teacher. He and Josephine Araldo wrote the cookbook From A Breton Garden. You can find my interview with Chef Reynolds at my Novice2Pro Chef Interviews and if you are interested in attending his cooking school in Portland, Oregon, there is a link to his web site at there too.

A Recipe Written Like A Novel

I love reading recipes that read like an essay or novel. For example, here is a excerpt from Chef Robert’s book about preparing his risotto:

“I went in search of a straight-sided sauté pan. I tend to use an equal amount of butter and oil in the pan when starting risotto, heating one until it releases its perfume before adding the other. When the temperature is right, I put in onions cut to the size of the grains of rice. I give them a sprinkle of salt and sauté gently until they melt.”

Not only is that a joy to read, you can learn a bunch of cooking tips in that one paragraph.

1. Cook risotto in a straight-sided sauté pan. I used to always make my risotto in a large saucepan or small stockpot.
2. Use butter and oil instead of just one or the other.
3. Wait to add the oil until you can smell the butter.
4. Cut the onions very, very small.
5. When to add salt – right after you add the onions.

All that from just a couple of sentences. That’s what I call a “learning” recipe and gets me excited.

More Chef Secrets About Cooking Risotto

Here are a few more tips and techniques I learned from reading Chef’s Chapter 12, Having a Man in the Kitchen. I’m sure every time I read this chapter, something new will pop out at me but for now:

Find the freshest ingredients available. The fresher they are, the more flavor your dishes will have.

Before adding any liquids, cook the risotto with the onions until the rice becomes opaque. I made this dish with my 10-year-old daughter and she was delighted when she could see the rice change from solid white to opaque.

Use the best chicken stock you can find. Chef Reyolds says you can “judge the flavor of the dish by the taste of the broth.”

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Another event brought me back to Harriton House last weekend. This time it was the Harriton Plantation Fair and featured horseback rides, sheep herding, Pennsylvania Dutch barbecue, music, log cutting and the infamous Stinging Nettle Eating Contest.

Rose Bochansky, the assistant to Curator Bruce Gill, thought up this event and was one of the 5 contestants. Being a vegetarian, I think Rose thought she was a lock to win, but Rose had no idea that my friend Barbecue Bob, that meat-eating gourmand was going to show her how to wolf down a pile of stinging nettles and win the first place prize, a case of beer. (Photo is of Rose and Bob extracting honey from honey bee combs back at the end of July.)

Stinging nettle (or should I say Urtica dioica) is an herbaceous flowering plant that can be found in Europe, Asia, Africa and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It is covered with tiny little hairs that act as needles that release a toxin when penetrating the skin. The toxin is harmless but burns at first and causes a nasty itch afterwards.

Why Eat Stinging Nettles

Not that I’m recommending you eat them raw, but stinging nettle has been used by many cultures as an herbal medicine. Because they are rich in calcium and iron, nettle is often used to make soups. (See http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/stinging-nettle-000275.htm) Supposedly, when you cook the leaves, the stinging hairs are disabled.

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