Dec 27, 2007 Posted in Cooking, Magazine Articles

Pastries

JH Magazine | Winter 2007

Being a pastry chef is about more than perfect endings. Pastries have their own sensibilities, their own timing. Mostly pastries are made in batches or a gigantic masterpiece commanding enormous amounts of time and attention. Pastry chefs are a part of every large restaurant or hotel kitchen, yet are a background support that quietly complements the work of producing plates for waiting diners. Sometimes they have a space of their own within the kitchen. Often they are the dedicated artists who work the odd hours when the kitchens are hushed. When a hotel guest arrives for breakfast, the pastries are fresh and warm. Not everyone gives thought to the person who arrived hours before the dawn to crank up the ovens.

Once you know it is in your blood to be a pastry chef, you must decide the path that is yours. It might be as a pastry chef in a fine hotel. You could wish to compete to be a World Chocolate Master and Culinary Olympic champion. Perhaps being a free agent who creates desserts for favorite local restaurants is the style you would choose. In Jackson Hole we enjoy them all.

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Jan 7, 2007 Posted in Cooking, Magazine Articles

Barbeque

Teton Home & Living | January 2007

Barbeque is extremely popular these days. It seems to be a growing trend in our local restaurant scene and our own backyards. One of the newest and busiest local restaurants is Q Roadhouse Barbeque in Jackson Hole on Teton Village Road. The longstanding, successful Knotty Pine bar and restaurant in Victor, Idaho has added a grand new smoker that is enhancing patrons dining experience. It’s no wonder this savory, succulent style of cooking is filling our bellies and our imaginations. The rich, complex flavors are enjoyable in themselves or accompanied by many lively side dishes, salsas and salads. Perhaps barbeque is a path toward healthier eating habits, totally contemporary and yet the evolution of a long history.

The term barbeque comes to us from the West Indies and the Spanish word barbacoa, according to Harold McGee in his book On Food and Cooking. The word from the island inhabitants reflected a style utilizing adjustable green wood frames hung from posts over open fires to cook a variety of foods. In the days of our founding fathers barbeques were festive focal point for rallies of social, political or religious purposes with an abundance of meats cooked outdoors. (more…)