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 An array of mushrooms from Wild Purveyors! Fungi, lots of fungi–this week was all about mushrooms. Sam and I prepared a menu to feature the nicest finds of the season, which included royal trumpets, maitake, beech, pom poms, and white truffles.
Mushroom lovers gathered in the kitchen with us for this special occasion. Cavan and Tom from Wild Purveyors brought the mushrooms and a few delicious local cheeses. A quick introduction was given by the “mushroom guys” and we started to cook.
For an appetizer, we sauteed the royal trumpets and served them on a grilled crostini with raclette cheese melted over them. Then we threw the maitake on the grill, chopped them up, and added another treasure of the season: fiddle-head ferns. We tossed them in a roasted garlic scape vinaigrette. All this was then served over an endive leaf.
The pasta course was Sam’s handmade rustic pasta with pan seared beech mushrooms. (Sam is Italian, so, some things we can’t go without!)
Buffalo sliders were the main course: grilled patties with creamy gorgonzola and pom poms cooked in butter. They were probably the largest sliders I have ever seen–I don’t know if we can really even call them “sliders.”
And for dessert–yes, a mushroom dessert–white truffle panna cotta. I even made a truffle caramel to go over them. They were tasty if I may say so myself.
We loved having this enthusiastic group cooking with us. It was very informative as well, and if nothing else, we shared a little of us and that’s what we enjoy. I can’t wait for the next opportunity to cook with Vivo’s fans.
Buen provecho!
 scapes and maitake on the grill  red and green endive salad with fiddlehead ferns
 Sharron Peterson Before I begin, let me say that I love Thumper as much as anyone. My memories of him frolicking with Bambi in the grass are very vivid. So let me assure you that I understand why many of you are wary of wary of the Hare. However, rabbits have been considered a viable protein source all over the world for centuries. One might even call rabbit Europe’s “other white meat.” So, today, I ask you to set your visions of the Easter Bunny and talking rabbits aside as we give credence to this wine friendly, versatile meat.
Let’s begin with some Rabbit Food History.
According to Rabbit records, our consumption of the hare dates at least as far back as the Phoenicians (3,000 B.C.), whose sailors discovered rabbits.
The Romans later used rabbit meat to feed their soldiers, and even developed enclosed wall areas called “leporaria” to keep wild rabbits ready for eating. In the Middle Ages, Monks kept “leporaria” and began breeding for weight, color and even flavor profile. By the 16th century King Henry VIII took to hunting them for sport (yes, he was a little nuts). And his daughter Queen Elizabeth kept “rabbit islands” where the little critters could run free and flourish. This is actually how Coney Island got its name: the Dutch named the island “Conyne Eylandt” which translates to “rabbit island.”
There are still rabbit islands today, but most rabbits in this country are bred for pets. Which takes us back to our original topic – rabbits as food.
One common misconception is that rabbit tastes like chicken. Well, it doesn’t–it tastes like rabbit! Rabbit is considered a “game” meat and offers a savory, softer flavor profile than chicken. It is low in fat and can be chopped, fried, diced, sliced… prepared any way your hopping heart desires. Rabbit is a white meat and well suited for spring, summer, autumn, or even winter. Because of this versatility it pairs well with many red and white wines.
For example, let’s take a look at Chef Daniel’s rabbit and pear dish.
Chef marinates his rabbit in a flavorful mixture of salt, pepper, garlic, and calvados. The seasoned pieces are sauteed and served with pear, rutabaga, and turnips. What a scrumptious combo! In order to pair wine with this dish, I look at the most dominant components: garlic, its fried preparation, salt, and pear.
In order to stand up to the garlic and the fried preparation, we must choose a wine with enough acid to “cut through” these qualities. Also, we need a wine that will neither accentuate the salt nor overpower the delicate flavors of the pear.
My Choices
Reds: Oregon/ French Pinot Noir or a nice Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the Rhone Valley
Whites: Alsatian Riesling or a white Rhone such as Marsanne or Rousanne
All of these wines are known for their vibrant fruit flavors yet have enough of a backbone (acid) to stand up to the garlic and fried preparation.
So, there you have it. Prepare Chef Daniel’s Rabbit and Pear dish, choose a wine and remember that food and wine is best when shared!
 Sommelier Sharron Peterson I’m very pleased to introduce to you my friend Sharron Peterson! She’s a fun, energetic, and very likable wine professional and I can’t wait for you guys to get to know her a little better. Sharron will be helping me out with wine pairings for my recipes. It should be a lot of fun. Here’s a little more about Sharron:
Sharron Peterson is a sommelier, wine educator and a soon to be a graduate of the University of California Davis Winemaking/Enology Program. For 13 years, she has lived the “wine life” in major cities such as San Francisco, Napa, and Seattle. She is on a mission to educate wine lovers in a fun, snob-free zone throughout the country.
Whether it’s for a wine class of 10 or a TV appearance, Sharron brings her wine knowledge, unique career experience and a never ending repertoire of wine tales to create an entertaining, educational experience for wine lovers of all ages. In the future she will be releasing her own wine and pursuing her love for writing. Currently, Sharron has been chosen from over 1,000 candidates nationwide as a cast member for season II of the reality show The Winemakers, which is set to air on PBS in 2010.
Web: www.sharronpeterson.com
 Joe Harvey and Jennifer Lingenfelter of Local Restaurant Week Once again Pittsburgh Magazine hosted the Best Restaurant Party, and this year I got to go with my friends from Vivo.
The Vivo crew proudly displayed a Tamagnini hand-operated flywheel slicer from Parma, Italy. We used it to slice our house-cured duck prosciutto. The prosciutto was a hit–the duck melted in your mouth like butter and the melon and balsamic reduction were simple but most delicious accompaniments.
It was a great time for us chefs to see and visit with all of our colleagues. Typically we never see each other because of the long hours we spend in the kitchen! A diverse list of the best restaurants in town participated in this event. The list included: Avenue B, Bangkok Balcony, big Catering, Bistro 19, Casbah, Church Brew Works, Claddaugh Irish Pub, Common Plea Restaurant, Cross Keys Inn, Dinette, Eat ‘n Park, Eleven, Franktuary, Girasole, Gullifty’s, Harris Grill, Hyeholde Restaurant, Ibiza Tapas Restaurant and Wine Bar, Ichiban, Il Pizzaiolo, Iovino’s Café, Isabella on Grandview, JAC’s Cafe, Jimmy Wan’s Restaurant & Lounge, Joseph Tambellini Restaurant, Kaya, LePommier, Levy Restaurants, Mad Mex, Mineo’s Pizza House, Mio Kitchen & Wine Bar, Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, Nakama Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar, Panera Bread, Pangea, Penn Brewery, Piccolo Forno, Plum Pan Asian Kitchen, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Salt of the Earth, Sesame Inn, Seviche, Silk Elephant, Smallman Street Deli, Soba, Square Cafe, SweetHouse Bake Shop, Taj Mahal, Tamari, The Carlton, Toast! Kitchen & Wine Bar, Typhoon, Umi, Vivo, Vocelli Pizza, Wild Rosemary, Wooden Angel and Yo Rita’s.
 Here I am working the Tamagnini slicer  Chef Daniel, Chris Fennimore, and Sam DiBattista
 Picture recipe for rabbit with pears I always have the urge to cook rabbit for Easter. Once again I was not allowed to, and I had to wait until later on to do so. Last fall I canned pears from our pear tree, and I thought they would taste great in this dish.
This recipe is actually quite simple, and despite the many steps it’s easy to cook. You can substitute fresh pears or even store bought canned pears, since I don’t have that many more left to give you.
ingredients
- 1 rabbit
- 1/4 cup calvados or brandy
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 medium size turnips cut into cubes
- 1 rutabaga cut into thick strips
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 tsp. chicken bullion
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 1 fresh oregano sprig
- 3-4 pears canned/fresh
- 6 oz. baby spinach
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Make a paste with the garlic cloves, calvados, salt and pepper–I like to use my mortar and pestle for this. Rub the paste on the rabbit pieces. The butcher can break down the rabbit for you or if you feel adventurous, you can do it yourself–a rabbit is very similar to a chicken in this sense. Let it marinate refrigerated for at least a half hour.
While the rabbit marinates, peel and cut the rutabaga and the turnips. Reserve the rutabaga in water.
Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large dutch oven or pan, and lightly brown the turnips. Remove from the oil and reserve.
Flour rabbit, add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil, and brown the rabbit. Remove the rabbit and set aside. Saute shallot in the rabbit oil, then deglaze the bottom of the pan with the pear liquid and white wine. Mix in the chicken bullion at this point.
Return rabbit to the pan. Sprinkle the thyme and oregano over the rabbit.
Rinse and place the rutabaga and turnips over the rabbit. Salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the rabbit and vegetables are fork tender, around 15 to 20 minutes. Mix in the pears and cover for 5 more minutes to warm them up. If you are using fresh pears add them right after the turnips.
Wilt spinach in a separate saute pan and arrange in the center of the plate with rabbit, turnips, rutabaga and pears. Drizzle the juices from the pan over the rabbit and serve.
See the wine pairing for this recipe at best when shared: rabbit with pears.
Buen provecho!
I’m in the Spotlight over at The Local Food Service. Thank you, Joe Harvey, for thinking of me. I’m glad you guys like my blog!
 morel hunter We finally got a little rain, temperatures are more stable and its starting to feel like spring in beautiful Western Pennsylvania.
Many have been waiting for these weather conditions since it indicates the beginning of morel season.
Mushroom foraging is a favorite activity of mine, and Glen Wantje was kind enough to take me with him on a early morning a couple of days ago.
It was a very successful foraging expedition. Our findings included both yellow and black morels.
At one point while I was concentrating on looking around the ground I happened to look up to see a shy but curious raccoon watching me from behind a tree only a few feet away from the mushrooms–maybe I was taking her breakfast. I’m sure there were plenty of mushrooms we didn’t find, plenty for everyone.
Finding wild eatables is something I enjoy very much. Thank you Glen!
 yellow morel (Morchella esculenta)  black morel (Morchella elata)  Glen sneaking up on some mushrooms  This woodland creature is very interested in our activities. We are trespassing on her mushroom hunting turf!  a nice haul!  Breakfast of champions!
 chefs at Fat Club This week I, along with a few of my colleges, had a chance to think about our culinary careers.
I reevaluated years of working in kitchens in different countries and innumerable life changing experiences in order to accomplish one goal: a single dish that would represent me as a chef.
One dish?! How about a whole meal?! Maybe six to eight courses…maybe twenty tapa dishes? Nope, one dish!
My mind went blank for two days, and the next two days I felt like one of those old computers rebooting. Hundreds of old menus were scrolling in my mind’s eye while I stared into the wall.
When I finally gave up thinking, the ocean and the mountains–a large part of my life growing up–were a constant, so it had to be a Mediterranean “surf and turf” of sorts.
Salt pork became my base, because pork is the king of tasty, as many would agree. The next layer had to be something that would scream Spain–an almond, garlic and olive oil mousse then–and the perfect fish selection: sardines. I used a raspberry vinaigrette to help cut the fattiness of the dish, and to bring one more wild, sustainable element to my dish.
 My Mediterranean "surf & turf"  Sam's pork belly and polenta This was a great exercise.
Dishes from the other chefs included pork belly, a tough menu item, but a favorite.
Simple but well executed dishes with gnocchi and a side of cold butternut squash soup topped with sage cream.
Raw, lightly seasoned, organic grass-fed beef made for delightful “cannibal burgers.”
Local deer meat was also featured in a tasty venison chili.
Basil lemonade served as a palate cleanser was a nice addition to the varied menu.
It was a great culinary peek into the souls of a few great local chefs.
 Chef Dan and a cannibal burger
 Mike's gnocchi
Sam and I will be sharing a little behind the scenes action on Tuesday, April 27th at 7:00 p.m.
Come and be part of a hands-on experience in the kitchen!
Let us share the culinary philosophy we practice daily. Fresh and local will be the focus.
The Menu:
Appetizer: House Made Duck Prosciutto with Melon
Insalata: Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
Entree: Black Angus Beef Tenderloin Rosemario with Baby Zucchini and Fingerling Potatoes
Dolci: Anisette Doughnuts with Vanilla Gelato & Caramel
For reservations, call 412-761-9500
Vivo
565 Lincoln Avenue
Bellevue, PA 15202-3531
 Chefs cookin' up something mysterious at Fat Club We all have heard of the underground dinner sites in DC or the extravagant, secret foodie gatherings in Seattle. All these have the same thing in common–they are “by invitation only” and any other details are vague.
Pittsburgh is no different. Chefs around the city have always that favorite delicacy they want to share or those items that perhaps aren’t ready to serve to the public, and the place to do it is Fat Club.
What’s Fat Club?
Well…What’s the first rule of Fat Club?–You are correct! I can’t talk about it.
What I can tell you is that a few weeks ago when the last gathering occurred, beer pairings were in the minds of the chefs.
 there is no Fat Club (*burp*) Maybe as a final farewell to winter many hearty dishes were featured at this event. Rabbit stew, lamb and pork all had a part in this feast. Chicken cooked in beer and even beef honeycomb (tripe) and pigs’ feet. Pretzels made from scratch shortly before dinner. Pickled, locally picked mushrooms and other veggies. And–of course–incredibly tempting desserts, such as a “car-bomb sundae” with Guinness ice cream and Jameson’s whiskey sauce, tiramisu…and much more. As I said, I really can’t talk about it. But I can’t wait until I get invited to the next one.
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Chef Daniel  I was raised in Asturias, northern Spain, in a family that loves to cook. My culinary development started early, watching my grandmother cook... [More] |
