HANGING WITH HANDKE

A horrible picture of the Peach Cobbler (please remember Eric was in charge of photography!)
Turkey Scallopine with Black Bean Relish and Herbed Polenta

Fun Fact: Three Restaurants Chef Handke dines at in Columbus---The Refectory, House of
Japan and Rigsby's

Another horrible picture courtesy of Eric as Chef Handke does his thing
Caesar Salad with Sauteed Filet of Salmon with Tomato Vinaigrette

Sorry, that I missed posting yesterday. I have a good reason though. I have a mysterious food allergy. All I know is that I had a meal consisting of grilled Cajun Marlin with polenta yesterday and by last evening I was swollen up like a helium balloon. Not cute---not cute at all. I couldn't breath and it felt like something was rotting in my stomach (sorry, that is probably too graphic, but lord it is true). I didn't sleep a wink. I've never been allergic to anything before, so now I am on a hunt to figure out what it could be........

Anyways, as I guzzled Benedryl today, all I could worry about was not looking like a chipmunk at my private cooking lesson tonight with Chef Handke. Thank god, the swelling went down and Eric and I headed to the underground realm of Hartmut Handke. He demonstrated how to prepare each dish, while everyone in the audience sloshed down wine. I sat in the front row, and made Eric sit in the back. It was much safer that way.

Everything was wonderful, except for the fact that I didn't know the bonus question "what is the alternative name of jicama". I know I have used it to make slaw and salsa. That it is kind of appley. Oh, so sorry, that I don't know it is also referred to as a Mexican Potato. At least no one else knew right off the bat...........

I also couldn't stand the guys in the crowd who wanted to show off their culinary geniuses by asking Chef Handke if the salt he just used was kosher.......or if you could use a processor instead of a blender for the salad dressing. Duh. He's a world class chef--like he is going to use table salt. You can wear your catchy martini glass shirt in here, but I'm not impressed. So shut up and let Chef Handke do the talking.

Alright, enough of my food snobbery--and on with the recipes. Everything we tasted was simple and delicious. Everything is either fresh or handmade there. No beans or chicken stock from a can here folks. If I had kitchen minions and six ovens, I would also have me some fresh stock everyday! Haha, I guess that is why we pay guys like Handke the big bucks!

Course One: CREAM OF RED BELL PEPPER SOUP

6 medium red bell peppers

1/2 onions, diced

1/2 carrots, diced

2 tablespoons butter

2 each cloves garlic, mined

1 cup dry white wine

6 cups chicken stock or water

2 bay leaves

Salt and Cayenne pepper to taste

2 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon mixed herbs (chives, parsley, and basil)

1. Preheat the broiler or grill. Place the peppers close to the heat, turning the peppers as necessary until charred and blistered on all surfaces. Transfer them to a plastic bag and seal shut. The steam created will enable the skin to slip off easily. Peel off the skin, remove and discard the core and all seeds; cut the peppers into a rough dice.

2. In a large pot, cook the onions and carrots in the butter until soft, but not brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes then add the peppers and the white wine. Bring to a boil and cook until the wine is reduced by half. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves. Leave to simmer until all the vegetables are very soft.

3. Remove the bay leaves and puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Put the soup into a clean pot, add the cream and bring back to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Adjust the seasoning, garnish with mixed herbs and serve immediately.

This was probably my favorite dish. So simple, yet so good. Chef Handke made the comment that the cayenne is necessary, though not to make it spicy--but instead bring out the flavors of the dish. He is absolutely right, it was perfect.

Course 2: CAESAR SALAD W/ SAUTEED FILET OF SALMON AND TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

2 head romaine, cut into 1" long pieces

1. Wash romaine, lift of of water and spin dry. But in a bowl and keep chilled until ready to use.

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoon white wine

1 teaspoon Worcestershire

6 each Anchovy filets (DON'T BE AFRAID, USE THEM!)

2 each cloves of garlic roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 cup ev olive oil

3 tablespoon Parmesan

1 teaspoon parsley

1. Put the first 7 ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin stream and process until the dressing is creamy and emulsified. Add the cheese and the parsley and process a few more seconds. Remove the dressing and store in a container until ready to use.

2 1/2 pounds salmon filet

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire

4 tablespoons olive oil

1. Remove the skin from the salmon and cut into eight 4 ounce portions. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and Worcestershire. 2. When ready to serve, place olive oil in a hot skillet that is large enough to hold 8 pieces of salmon. When oil is hot, add the salmon and cook for two minutes on each side. Serve immediately with Caesar salad.

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons shallots, finely diced

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 cup roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1. Put 4 tablespoons olive oil in skillet and heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent. Add vinegar and tomatoes, remove from heat (you don't want the mushy!). Add 1/2 cup olive oil and parsley. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

TO SERVE: Toss romaine with dressing and place on left side of plate. Put sauteed salmon filet on the right side of the plate and spoon two generous tablespoons of tomato vinaigrette over salmon and serve immediately.

DELICIOUS! The tomato vinaigrette was the best. I will definitely be using this recipe in the future.

Course 3: TURKEY SCALLOPINE W/BLACK BEAN RELISH

2 1/2 pounds turkey breast cut into 16 thin slice scallopine

1/4 cup olive oil

3 each cloves garlic grated on micro-file

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated on micro-file

salt and pepper to taste

1. Arrange scallopine on a tray next to each other. Mix olive oil with garlic and ginger. Brush mixture on scallopine; season with salt and pepper, cover with film and let marinate for one hour.

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 each garlic cloves, grated on micro-file

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated on micro-file

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed

1 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup corn, cooked

1/2 cup jicama, diced

3 tablespoons cilantro

1 teaspoon jalapeno

1. Place oil, vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well with a piano wire whip. Fold in rest of ingredients and let marinate for a couple of hours at room temperature.

To serve: Heat a non-stick skillet and cook the turkey quickly for just about one minute on each side. Spoon a little of the black bean salsa on a warmed place and arrange the turkey around it. Serve immediately.

*Note: He also boiled up some water and cornmeal to make a side of polenta seasoning with fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese*

This was good, just not as good as the others!

Course 4: PEACH COBBLER WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM

6 cups fresh peaches, cut into wedges with skin left on

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup sugar

pinch each of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 375. In heavy saucepan, combine peaches, sugar and water. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to a simmer and allow fruit to cook until softened.

2. In a small bowl, blend flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Pour into peach mixture, stirring constantly until mixture thickens.

3. Remove from heat and divide the mixture into 8 fireproof dishes and allow to slightly cool. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and milk. Using a piano wire whip, whip until well blended. Season with salt.

4. Pour some of the batter in an irregular shape over each of the cobblers and bake for about 5 to 8 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Remove from the oven, powder with confectionery sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Old fashioned, but wonderful Even though I was stuffed by this course, I managed to shove down all the cobbler and leave a clean plate:) Along with the food, we also had wine with each course--A pinot grigio, chardonnay, pinot noir, and a late harvest riesling. I manged to try all of those too! All in all, a wonderful evening (even Eric loved it!).