CHEFS’ (HOLIDAY) TABLE By Janice Binkert
One might imagine that professional chefs go all out for holiday meals at home with family, preparing all manner of elaborate festive fare, plated and garnished exquisitely. That’s not always the case, most say, but when they do cook on these occasions, what is more important to them than getting fancy is sourcing as many ingredients as possible locally — just as they do when they cook in their respective restaurants. And looking back on fond memories of holidays past, the four highly talented chefs featured here admitted that sometimes at those gatherings, instead of being in the kitchen, they've often just sat back and enjoyed their family’s’ traditional holiday specialties — be they simple or sophisticated — prepared by their parents, aunts, uncles or grandmas!
GRAMMA K’S MAPLE WALNUT MERINGUE CAKE
(Servings vary) From Jennifer Blakeslee, co-owner/chef with Eric Patterson of The Cooks’ House in Traverse City “My Gramma Kilbourn would be thrilled that I am sharing this recipe. She was an amazing woman and a wonderful cook, always cooking up a storm. She added delight to our holidays and to every other family gathering with her personality and culinary treats. Gramma K lived to be 100 years old. We found this old magazine picture in with her recipe cards after she passed away — that’s what this cake looked like when she made it. My cousin Cassy, who lives in Colorado, and I have been reminiscing about her even more with the holidays coming up, and this special recipe is always part of the conversation. It’s a bit of a project to make but totally worth it!”
ROSA MARINA SALAD
(Servings vary) From Stephanie Wiitala, co-owner/chef with partner Jonathan Dayton of S2S Sugar 2 Salt in Traverse City “As long as I can remember, there has always been a big beautiful bowl of Rosa Marina salad at our Christmas dinner table. My mom got the recipe from my Aunt Marilee, and she has a 40-year-old typewritten recipe card signed by her to prove it. You can make it ahead the day before, which is convenient around the holidays. When I grew up and had my own home, my mom passed this recipe on to me, and I have played with it over the years, substituting fresh, seasonal local fruits. As a professional chef, I love to use recipes as an inspiration and make them my own by changing things up. However, with this recipe, I admit that the original way my mom has always made it is still my favorite. I guess that’s what makes it so special.” Ingredients 8 ounces orzo pasta, (similar to a pasta called Rosa Marina) 2 eggs, ¾ cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon fruit juice from canned fruit (or apple juice if using other fruit) 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, well drained 1 16-ounce can chunk pineapple, well drained (my mom says to drain it overnight if possible). You can substitute other fruits like apples, pears, blueberries, or peaches if you like — about 24 ounces total of fruit (approximately 2 cups) 1 16-ounce carton of Cool Whip (I never buy this, so I use 1½ cups of heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks, with ¼ cup sugar added at the end.) Procedure Boil orzo pasta about 8–10 minutes or until al dente. Drain completely and set aside. Mix eggs, sugar, salt, flour, and fruit juice in a small saucepan. Cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring with a whisk the whole time until thickened and the consistency of pudding (don’t walk away while making this). Remove from heat and set aside until cooled. Mix the cooked orzo into the cooled pudding, put into a large sealed container, and chill overnight in the refrigerator if making the day before, or for at least 2–3 hours. Remove chilled orzo/pudding mix from refrigerator and fold in drained mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, and Cool Whip (or whipped cream). Put back into the refrigerator to chill for another hour before serving. Choose a pretty clear glass bowl to serve and enjoy!
20 • dec 07, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly
Ingredients 1¾ cups walnut pieces ¾ cups maple syrup, divided (we prefer any of the maple syrups from BLiS Gourmet) 4 large egg whites at room temperature, to ensure proper whipping (source the eggs locally if possible) ½ cup sugar ¾ cups light brown sugar, packed 2½ cups whipping cream (we think the cream from Hilhof Dairy is the best in the area) 1 teaspoon vanilla Bourbon or whiskey to taste (we really like the whiskeys from Iron Fish, Ethanology, or Mammoth distilleries here in northern Michigan) Procedure Toss walnut pieces with ¼ cup maple syrup and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast in a 350-degree oven until browned; this will take 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven, cool down, and chop finely with a knife. Turn the oven down to 275 degrees. In a large bowl or in a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy. Once they are foamy, start to pour the sugars into egg whites while whipping on medium-high speed. Once the sugars have all been added, continue to whip until stiff peaks form. (You have just made meringue - congratulations!) Set aside. Draw three 9-inch circles on a piece of parchment paper. Put the parchment paper onto a sheet pan. Fill a pastry bag with a plain tip with some of the meringue. Starting about ½ inch inside of the first circle, pipe a nice fat spiral around the circle until you reach the middle. Continue to do this until all three circles have spirals in them. If you don’t have a pastry bag, just spread the meringue using a spatula. Put the sheet pan into the oven and bake for one hour. Depending on your oven, the meringue may get a little brown; don’t panic, it will be fine. Let the baked meringue rest on a wire rack on the counter until completely cool, and I mean completely cool. If they are even a little warm, the whipped cream you will be placing on top of them in the next step will melt and make a big mess. Whip the cream until just a wee bit past medium peaks, and then fold in the remaining ½ cup of the maple syrup, the vanilla, and all but about ⅓ cup of the finely chopped walnuts (the reserved ⅓ cup walnuts will be sprinkled on top of the cake when finished). Place a circle of meringue on a plate. Sprinkle some whiskey on the meringue and spoon ⅓ of the whipped cream on top. Spread the cream up to about ½ inch from the edge. Place the next meringue on top, press gently to help seal it, and top with more whiskey and whipped cream. Repeat for the last layer. Once the last bit of whipped cream has been added to the top of the cake, gently smooth it out with a spatula. Sprinkle the reserved walnuts on top. Put the cake into the refrigerator for at least one hour or ideally, overnight. The reason for this is the meringue will need to soften to make it easier to slice.
