Moose Island Bay Day Boat Scallops Erics recipe.

Kirsch’s Restaurant

Lake Geneva Wisconsin

Sous Chef Eric Barber

January 23, 2010

Moose Island day boat Scallops

Apple, Fennel, Chorizo

Recipe:

Serves four

12 cleaned moose island Scallops

Salt and white pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

1 granny smith apple peeled, cored and chopped

1 roasted fennel bulb sliced and chopped

3 ounces Palacio’s Spanish Dried chorizo sliced thin into half moons

Garnish:

Villa Manodori Dark Cherry Balsamic

Extra virgin olive oil

Fennel frond

Sea salt

Preparation:

Heat a sauté pan on high heat, add oil, season scallops with salt and pepper, and add to hot pan. Sauté quickly for 1 to 2 minutes until scallop starts to caramelize, turn over and cook for 30 seconds longer. Take scallops out of pan and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Turn heat down to medium pour off hot oil into a metal container and place pan back on the stove. Add a little more fresh oil and carefully place into the pan fennel, apples and chorizo.  Cook until warm and chorizo starts to get a little crispy on the edges. Take off the heat and prepare to plate.

To Assemble:

Spoon some of the apple, fennel and chorizo into the middle of a plate, forming a bed to rest the scallops on. Top with 3 scallops, and garnish with some fennel fronds, drizzle some balsamic and extra virgin olive oil around the scallops, and finish with some sea salt.

Moose Island Bay Day Boat Scallops Recipe

Kirsch’s Restaurant

Lake Geneva Wisconsin

Chef Rick Starr

January 23, 2010

Moose Island day boat Scallop

“Surf and Earth”

Lobster, Winter Truffle, Parsnip

Recipe:

(Makes 8 portions)

8 ounces cleaned Moose Island Scallops

1 egg white

Kosher salt and white pepper to taste

1cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon chopped winter truffle

2 tablespoons room temperature butter

Garnish:

Frizzled parsnip

Lobster broth

Sliced winter truffle

In a food processer add scallop, egg white and salt and pepper to taste. Puree for 30 seconds, scrape down sides and repeat. Once pureed place into a bowl and refrigerate for 30 min. while waiting whip half of the cream until medium peaks. Pre heat your oven to 300F degrees. Take puree out of refrigerator and add remaining cream, incorporate with a wooden spoon. Next fold in whipped cream and add chopped truffle. Grease the inside of 8 2ounce ramekins, spoon in scallop mousse and fill to the top. Tap each one to release air pockets and place into a cake pan. Fill pan half way up to sides of ramekins with hot water. Cover with a lightly greased piece of aluminum foil, and place into your oven for 15 to 25 min. check often, scallops are done when they feel set to the touch and can be removed cleanly from the sides of the ramekin. Place on top of your stove and leave in the water bath.

To assemble:

Place some lobster broth on the bottom of a bowl; take a scallop out of a ramekin running a knife on the inside of the ramekin, gently loosening the scallop. Place scallop in the middle of the lobster broth, and top with some frizzled parsnip. Place a few slices of winter truffle around the bowl. Drizzle with some quality Italian extra virgin olive oil, preferable from Sicily, and finish with some sea salt.

  

Moose Island Bay Day Boat Scallops

Gulf of Maine's Moose Island Day Boat Scallop season is now open!! The Eastport Area communities located on Moose Island in Washington County Maine are committed to preserving their heritage and the natural beauty of their environment. These communities are rich in history, with settlements dating back as early as 1763. The area is one of the eastern most points of the U.S with miles of beautiful cobble beaches, tidal covers, rivers, streams, and inland lakes. Moose Island is truly one of the last unspoiled stretches of Maine coast. It is from these pristine, nutrient-rich waters that fishermen harvest the finest sea scallop in the world.

The Gulf of Maine, Moose Island Scallop fishery is a small community based fishery consisting of only around 40 family owned vessels. Strictly enforced government regulations and the fishermen’s dedication to offering only the finest artisan products makes this short seasonal fishery one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world. In order to participate in the fishery, boats are required to have a system that tracks their locations via satellite (in order to enforce prohibitions in entering areas closed to scalloping). The Gulf of Maine Moose Island fishery harvests within three miles of shore and limits catches to only a few hundred pounds per vessel.
The uncharacteristically high levels of phytoplankton and microzooplankton in the area waters produces a scallop that has the highest sugar content of any sea scallop on the planet. Often referred to as "sugar" or "honey" scallops, their extremely high natural sugar content provides these beautiful scallops with a slightly peach colored meat and buttery nectarous flavor that is versatile on both raw and cooked applications.

We have just received these beautiful scallops today, and I will have all night to dream of how I am going to prepare them tomorrow.

Night of Love Scholarship Dinner

Every February, The local chef's and local high school, get together and we create a dinner to raise funds for Culinary scholarships. This year I am preparing the passed Hors d' oeuvre's. There will be 5 courses including a intermezzo. I am not sure what the other chefs will be preparing but here are some of my ideas that I may serve. I may have to adjust depending on the seasonal product that is available.

Black truffle risotto, on spoon

Foie gras, wild mushrooms, brioche, dark cherry balsamic

Poached quail egg, applewood smoked bacon, caviar beurre blanc on spoon

Herbed buttermilk waffle, prosciutto di Parma, pecorino, vanilla bean white truffled butter

Braised beef short ribs, caramelized root vegetable confetti, fresh horseradish

Duck Confit, polenta, crispy parsnip, gorgonzola

Tomato Confit, balsamic, Parmigiano, crustini

Shrimp cocktail, Bloody Mary chaser, preserved lemon

Top 3 Living chefs

I was recently on a blog, and somehow I came across a thread where they were rating the top 50 chefs. I am curious who do you think are the top 3 living chefs. I know this is going to be hard to sum up only 3, and I choose living Chefs because its a little more relevant. Your top 3 do not have to be rated in order, and they can be retired.

After some time thinking, the top chefs on my list would be... 
Paul Bocuse
Ferran Adria
Thomas Keller

Really tough to leave Joel Robuchon and Freddy Girardet of that list. But I think for me, Keller is my Favorite chef in the world, and is the only American Chef with 6 Michelin Stars and Bocuse and Adria are solid picks regardless.
Also being a Chicago native, it was hard to keep these chefs off, being I personally was so influenced by Charlie Trotter, Jean Banchet, and currently Grant Achatz and Laurent Gras at L2O.
For the record this is my list and your list can be any chefs that you choose. I am not asking for any debate on my list, and I am just curious what other people who love food and wine think the top 3 living chefs are.

Hours of Operation

As of January first, we closed Monday to Wed. and are open Thursday to Sunday. With the current economic conditions and the uncertainty of the future, we feel that it would be in the best interest to shut down during the week. We will re visit this idea at the end of January to evaluate and decide if we will continue to be closed or re open during the week. How does this effect our guest, we hope it will not. We have done the best we can to inform everyone on our new hours. I know as far as the Food, they will benefit as we are ordering every thing in daily and there should only be the freshest product available. In addition the moral and energy level of the entire staff should be higher than usual. Good news is "We are open".  There is something to be said about that, many restaurants in this area are no longer around due to slow summers and bad weather. We have adapted and have accepted the fact that we can not succeed running this restaurant as we did in the past. When business is back we will have been anticipating it and will be ready, better then ever.

Parmigiano Reggiano

By many this cheese is considered the number one cheese in the world. It dates back to the 12 century, in the Provinces of Parma  and Reggio Emilio primarily. This Cheese has withstood over 800 years of tradition and the recipe has not changed. I would easily have to say that if ever there was a perfect recipe, the Italians have one in the production of this cheese.  There is a reason why this cheese is expensive, due to the fact that there are around 600 producers of this cheese for the entire world. It is a cheese that can only be produced in a specific area in Italy know as the 'zona tipica' and is protected by two consortiums, the DOP and the Conzorzio del Parmigiano-Reggiano. When you purchase Parmigiano, look for the name on the rind, and make sure there are no xxx stamped into the rind as this suggest a flawed product that some times the Italians will sell  this to other countries and keep the perfect wheels for themselves. 

One of the easiest uses for Parm. Is simply eat it by its self. When you want to cook with it always add it last. You will find that when gently warmed it creates a sauce as it melts into what ever you add it to. I love to finish risotto or top pasta with it, as these are some of the most common ways to use Parmigiano, and there is no substitute. Trust me when I say "you get what you pay for". If you buy Parmigiano and it is not a "Product if Italy" and does not have a D.O.P. tag, then you are not buying the right product and save your money, because it will not be worth it. I have tried Wisconsin cheeses, California, even some similar cheeses made in Italy, and none compare to the King of Cheeses.

Storage of this cheese is pretty simple, just keep it dry and wrapped tightly, it could last over a year, but I will be bold to say once you have some in your refrigerator it will not last long, as you will find yourself tasting it every time you open your fridge. Some thing else to note, you can save the rind and simmer it in some cream for about20 min. then cool in your refrigerator and once infused over night, strain and make crème anglaise then turn it into Parmigiano Reggiano gelato, and you could drizzle a little Dark cherry balsamic from Modena over the top, and have a unique experience with what most Americans would never use, and usually always throw out.

I will post some more pics throughout the year regarding this incredible product, and I hope this post answers some questions that you may have had .

Preview of our Valentines day menu

Here are some Ideas for Valentines day.  I was thinking of offering 3 courses for 35 dollars.

Maybe we could offer a wine flight for 15 dollars? My thought is even if only one person orders the  Tasting menu,  we should be able to get the other guest to order 3 courses also.  In addition I think some people like to have a package to order from so they can plan on the costs. It is a tough economy and there has to be some type of deal to bring in the guest without devaluing  our restaurant.

This is a sample of my menu, consisting of a Starter, Entrée and Dessert.    

                                                       

                                           Sexy , Simple and Sweet

Diver Scallop Soufflé  with Creamy lobster broth and caviar garnish.

Alaskan King crab Ravioli with black truffle carpaccio and parmigiano  reggiano.

Bitter sweet  Cordillera Chocolate Truffle cake, with  Illy cappuccino mousse and milk chocolate gelato.

As for the wine pairings I would probably pair the three courses with wines from Italy. I would be hard pressed to think of another country that produces better wine for food pairing, especially  the old world style. I would pair a prosecco with the first, something a little dry, a Pinot Grigio with the second course maybe from the Trentino region, like Terlan Pinot, and definitely a Brunello di  Montalcino from Il Poggione a perfect match for bittersweet chocolate.    

Baby Goat

Free range Goat

I am always looking for different proteins to cook, and one of my favorites is Free range goat. I am looking for classical ideas and resort to Italy when I decide to cook goat. I find that when grilled whole and roasted with EVO, garlic and Balsamic over mire poix, then pulled as the best way to cook this animal.  We can serve it over polenta, or use it in a starter course. The possibilities are endless. We source our goat from a local farm named Moon Star farms. Don and Mary Bub are the owners and they are organic, and produce the best product around. We buy a young goat and its hanging  weight is around 16 to 25 pounds.  If you are looking for some recipes, try using the word Kid, as many countries in Europe use this name for young goat.

Winter in Wisconsin

One of the biggest challenges to working in Wisconsin is the availability of fresh produce in the Winter. We try to bring in as little as possible, as we are aware that they travel from California or Mexico. The quality is not very good and the price is to high.  Although our guest are educated diners they still want Fresh basil and Tomatoes with there Fresh Mozzarella salad. So we are faced with that challenge and we cope with it  by making fresh pesto and slow roasted Tomato Confit. We will also add marinated garlic and marinated artichokes. This salad is inspired by the Great Chicago Chef, Tony Mantuano  from the only 4 star Italian Restaurant in Chicago, Spiaggia. When I was at Ristorante Brissago I was fortunate enough to have him visit as a Guest Celebrity Chef, not once but Twice, and not only was he there, we also had the Privilege of Mr. Giuliano Bugialli , Visit us at the same time. But that is a story for another day.  So here is a Picture of our Pesto, and I can assure you after you taste this pesto you may never want just a Basil leaf on your salad again.

Foie and Yellow Foot...

Tonight was again fairly busy for just coming off New Years Eve. In the past we would be closed due to lack of business, but that was not the case this year being that it is a weekend. So the new menu is selling fairly well. It was all Grouper and Short ribs tonight. Desserts seem to be doing well also. We have the last of yellow foot mushrooms in the house, and when fully cooked they are delicious. We add them to our Foie Gras, and serve them with dark cherry balsamic and brioche. I love foie gras and it is a pretty classic match with wild mushrooms and acid which is the balsamic. Its important to add acid to balance the dish, other wise it will be a little on the rich side and have one note. We have this dish on our menu and the mushrooms change with the seasons. As a side note a woman who had our Lobster broth and broccoli and brie soup Togo, called back later on in the night to announce that she wanted to marry the Chef.

January, First, Two Thousand and Ten

January 1st 2010, is finally here. I have been waiting this years arrival for what seems like for ever. Now its time to start writing my cookbook,  and get this restaurant refocused on what we can control. Some examples may be, giving the guest a exceptional dining experience, or sourcing out the best sea salt to finish our beef short rib. There are countless  ways, and the point is that we can not control the economy or new taxes or laws that are hurting our small business but we can look for ways to  improve and become more efficient so when we do have business we will be operating at the highest level we possibly can. I think the restaurant industry  has done a good job of weathering this fiscal nightmare and its ready to start growing again. Stronger and better than ever. There have been a lot  of changes in Lake Geneva and it has positioned us in a favorable position in 2010. I am looking forward to this new season and I am excited to see what the fruits of our labor will bring.

Now for the biggest conflict that I have had my entire career. That conflict  is the fact that it is January 1st and that means new years day. Which also means INVENTORY. Now the cook in me hates inventory, I mean it absolutely sucks to have to walk around and count everything in the restaurant and then type it onto a spread sheet while updating pricing and making sure that it is all done before your first sale of the new month. Once more I am guessing that most chefs are hung over from probably one of the busiest nights prior, being New Years Eve. That being said I fortunately do not drink so that part does  not bother me any more, but it is always something as a cook I would rather not do.  Well as a chef I love inventory, It means the closing of one period and the opening of another. I can get a lot of information from taking inventory and I use it to create our menus. It also helps to confirm our Food cost, and tells me if there are any leaks in our cost controls.  So it is something that I have learned over the many years that I have been taking it , to accept and to learn from .

We also started the new winter menu tonight so I will talk a little more about that tomorrow,  as I think that this may be one of our more well rounded January menus, and the response tonight was pretty encouraging.