Their names conjure a pantheon of haute cuisine—Emeril, Wolfgang, Alex, Charlie Trotter and Charlie Palmer, Paul Bartolotta, David Burke, Hubert Keller, Luciano Pellegrini, Julian Serrano—but they’re not statues on pedestals. Under starched white coats and tall white toques, their passion for food and wine has sizzled for decades. Since all intense relationships suffer disenchantment, how do they keep their culinary fervor burning? With passion on the front burner, we also asked our chefs to share their vision of romantic dining since February’s Valentine’s Day is the annual holiday of the heart.  All together, they created a 10-course sensual culinary experience that’s worth a five-star celebration.

A SYMPHONY OF FOOD AND WINE
Our chefs crafted a delectable meal as carefully as a great symphony. “The meal should be a crescendo,” Luciano Pellegrini said, “beginning with the most delicate and ending with the most robust flavors and textures to build up expectations and then climax with dessert.”

“Every dish must stand on its own and also lead to the next,” Charlie Trotter remarked. “You don’t want to repeat flavor profiles or textures. It’s almost like composing a symphony. What’s in season also influences what you serve. It’s also important to tailor the menu to each guest, their mood, their tastes, and their dining experience and expectations. The greatest compliment is when both a super-sophisticated diner and a ‘lay’ diner are happy with what they’re served.”

“I like to include both luxury and peasant dishes, lots of elements of surprise, and peaks and valleys throughout the meal,” said David Burke. “Each dish should look like it was made by a different chef. It depends, too, on my mood, whether I’m feeling playful or serious.”

“You eat first with your eyes,” Hubert Keller remarked, “so all the dishes should be very visual. The ‘wow’ factor has to carry through the menu. You must keep climbing and include dishes people don’t expect towards the end. You want to create fireworks with several desserts, then at the end, hit ’em with chocolate.”

Wolfgang Puck praised advantages of small tastes of many different dishes. “A degustation menu keeps your palate excited and interested,” he observed. “Presentation is very important; so not only should the food vary in color but also your serving dishes can go from bowls to cups to glasses to varying shapes of plates in different colors. It’s also important not to wait too long between courses. Few people have the patience to sit for three or four hours. Besides, the palate will get tired after a while.”

Puck also suggested how to sequence the wines. “Start with Champagne,” he recommended, “then maybe go into some lighter whites like Sauvignon Blanc, next a richer, fruitier wine like Viognier and maybe finish the white wine service with a Montrachet or a great Riesling like F.X. Pichler’s ‘M.’ For reds, I’m a great lover of Burgundy or Pinot Noir from France or the New World, and I love to serve them with fowl or certain risotto or pasta dishes. I’d finish off with a well-balanced Cabernet maybe with a great slice of Kobe steak or a wonderful Sonoma lamb chop. I like two courses of sweets, the first with some seasonal fruits, and then finish with chocolate and Port wine.”

To finish enjoying this article, please visit Border's Books or subscribe using the link below.

---

A SYMPHONY OF FOOD AND WINE WITH THE ONE YOU LOVE
Created by 10 Passionate Chefs

Caviar and Champagne
ALEX STRATTA - Alex and Stratta/WYNN

Champagne and caviar are easy to prepare.  Just pop the champagne cork, open the caviar, and serve it on toast points, possibly with some butter.  You don’t want extraneous accompaniments to compete with the caviar. My personal preference for caviar is Iranian Golden Osetra because of its nutty, briny flavor and remarkable ‘pop’ on your tongue.   There are many fine Champagnes and sparkling wines, but Dom Perignon ‘Enotec’ champagne is my wife, Laura’s, favorite.


Oysters Bienville:  Oysters, Caviar, and Champagne
EMERIL LAGASSE - Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House/MGM Grand; Table 10/Palazzo; Delmonico/Venetian
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, courtesy Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.

Oysters Bienville is a great dish for any occasion, but it’s even better when shared with someone you love.  Pair it with chilled champagne like Dom Pérignon or Cristal and it’s perfect.  

Ingredients
Rock salt, for baking
2 strips bacon, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1-1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup finely chopped white button mushrooms
1/4 lb medium-size shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
2 Tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp chopped green onions (green parts only)
2 tsp finely chopped parsley
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 dozen freshly shucked oysters, drained and deeper bottom shell rinsed and reserved for baking
1 Tbsp caviar, optional

Method
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread a 1/2-inch thick layer of rock salt on a large baking sheet and across the bottoms of two large plates. Set aside.

Fry the bacon until just crisp in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, salt, and cayenne and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.  Add the garlic and butter, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the butter melts.  Add the flour, and stirring slowly and constantly, cook for 2 minutes.  Add the milk and wine and stir to blend.

Reduce the heat to medium, then add the mushrooms and shrimp.  Stir and fold to mix and cook until the mixture is thick, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the Parmesan, lemon juice, green onions and parsley and stir to blend. 

Remove from the heat, add the egg yolk, and blend well.  Let cool to room temperature. 

Arrange the reserved oyster shells on the prepared baking sheet.  Put 1 oyster in each shell and top with about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the sauce, spreading the sauce evenly out to the edges of the shell to completely cover the oyster. (Alternatively, pipe the sauce over the oysters.) Bake until the sauce is lightly browned and the oysters begin to curl around the edges, about 20 minutes.

Using tongs or a spatula, carefully transfer the hot shells to the salt-covered plates and top each oyster with about 1/4 teaspoon of the caviar. Serve immediately.

Makes one dozen oysters, 2 servings


Organic Lobster Scramble with Caviar & Crème Fraiche in an Ostrich Egg Shell
DAVID BURKE -  David Burke/The Venetian

Breakfast as dinner is very comforting but, at the same time, very sexy and elegant.   I love eggs, caviar, and lobster; Lobster Scramble includes them all.  Enjoy with fine Champagne.

Ingredients
4 organic eggs, beaten with 2 oz milk
2 oz lobster milk
1 Tbsp shallots, minced
1 Tbsp tomato fondue
1 Tbsp sweet butter
Salt/pepper
1 quenelle crème fraiche
1 oz caviar

Method

Crack open ostrich egg shell and clean interior.  Use this as a plate.  In a sauté pan melt butter.  Sauté lobster until cooked tender.  Add tomato fondue, eggs, salt, pepper and cook until soft.  Fill up egg shell and top with crème fraiche and caviar.  Serve with toast on side.

Lobster Two Ways (Steamed medallions and lobster and crab cakes)
LUCIANO PELLEGRINI - Valentino/The Venetian; Giorgio Caffé and Ristorante/Mandalay Place; in collaboration with Piero Selvaggio

Ingredients (makes 2)
2 live Maine lobsters
3 oz crab meat
2 passion fruit (1/4 cup juice extract if not fresh)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Small lettuce leaves for garnish
1 tsp chopped fresh dill
1 Tbsp roasted garlic
2 Tbsp butter
Coarse sea salt

Method
Steam lobsters for 3 minutes, then take meat out of shell.  When removing meat, take care not to break shell near antennas and tail.  Use a pair of kitchen scissors or shears to cut around the tip of carapace head and tail.  Set aside for garnish.

Slice each tail into at least 7 medallions (don’t include very tip of tail and the end part).  Put medallions on a plate and season with salt and pepper.  Chop remaining lobster meat (leftover from tail, claw and knuckle) into a coarse paste; add crab meat and season with salt, pepper, dill and roasted garlic, mix well and form 2 cakes.

If you can find fresh passion fruit, cut in half and scoop out pulp.  Strain to remove seeds.  Blend olive oil and passion fruit to make dressing, season with salt and pepper

Preheat a griddle over medium fire.  Melt butter on griddle; put cakes on one half and lobster medallion on the other half; turn medallions and cakes with a spatula when they start to color.

Final Touches
While the lobster is cooking, spoon some dressing in the middle of an oval plate; shape a heart if you can; mound some lettuce on one side.  When lobster is done (shouldn’t take more then 3-4 minutes), fan medallions over lettuce and place the cake on the other side.  Drizzle some dressing over lobster and garnish with lobster shell.


Smoked Salmon “Ravioli” with Caviar and Cream of Avocado
HUBERT KELLER - Fleur de Lys/Mandalay Bay; Burger Bar/Mandalay Place

For my wife, Chantal, and me, romantic moments are quiet times together, enjoying something simple, like smoked salmon with a bottle of Alsatian Riesling that’s on the dry side.

Ingredients (Makes 12 raviolis)
2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
4 Tbsp peeled, seeded, diced tomato
2 Tbsp onion finely diced
1 pinch of curry powder
1 pinch of paprika
1 lime, juiced
16 oz Smoked Salmon thinly sliced
1 oz American Sturgeon Caviar
Salt & Pepper

Method
In a small mixing bowl, mash coarsely the avocado with a fork. Add the diced tomato, onion, curry, paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix gently and check seasoning. Refrigerate.

Lay out the slices of smoked salmon on a working surface. Using a cookie cutter ( 2-1/2 inches diameter) cut out 24 discs. Divide equally the avocado mix between 12 smoked salmon discs by placing the guacamole in the center of each one. Cover up the avocado with the remaining 12 other smoked salmon discs. Press down gently the edges of the smoked salmon in order to seal in the avocado and forming”ravioli”. Transfer the raviolis on a small sheet pan lined with plastic film wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes at least.

Just before serving, top each ravioli with the Caviar and serve immediately, accompanied with freshly toasted bread.

Sonoma Fois Gras with Buttered Papparadelle and Truffled Brussel Sprouts
CHARLIE PALMER - Charlie Palmer Steak/Four Seasons; Aureole/Mandalay Bay

Foie gras is a very sensual dish, which I’d pair with a late-harvest Riesling, such as Navarro or Joseph Phelps from California.

Foie Gras Terrine Ingredients
2 raw Sonoma foie gras
1/2 cup white port
2 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp finely ground white pepper

Method
Remove the foie gras from the refrigerator; place them on a cutting board covered with plastic film, and allow them to warm slightly. Carefully divide each foie gras into two lobes. Using a small, very sharp knife, split open one lobe. Begin carefully pushing the liver to open it further, removing the veins as you go. Do not cut through outer skin. Try to locate the main vein stem and pull it up and out to release the smaller veins and arteries. Keep spreading the liver to locate and remove the veins. During the process, the liver will begin to look like paste. The vein removal requires patience and vigilance. Proceed in the same manner with the remaining lobes.  When all veins are removed, sprinkle foie gras with port. Lightly wrap in plastic film and refrigerate one hour.

Combine salt, sugar and pepper and set aside.  Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.

Remove foie gras from refrigerator. Gently pat a 1-1/2 inch layer of foie gras into the bottom of a 12 x 4 x 4 inch porcelain terrine. Sprinkle with seasoning mix. Cover with plastic film and tap down with the palm of your hand. Remove plastic and continue making layers of foie gras and seasoning, covering with plastic film and tapping down as you go until you have used all of the foie gras. Smooth the top and then tightly wrap the entire dish in plastic film. Fold a terry hand towel into the shape of the terrine. Place the towel in a pan at least 5 inches deep and large enough to hold the filled terrine. Set the filled terrine on the towel and fill the pan with enough cold water to come up almost to the top of the terrine. Carefully place the pan in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and lift the terrine from the water bath. Unwrap and allow to cool on a wire rack. When cool, cover with a piece of parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

To unmold, wrap terrine with a hot towel and turn it out onto a well-chilled serving platter. Cut it into 1/8 -inch thick slices and serve with buttered papparadelle and truffled brussel sprounts. Drizzle with aged balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle foie with pink sea salt and fleur de sel.

Papparadelle Ingredients
One package of dried papparadelle pasta. Cook as per instructions on package. Toss with butter and season with salt and pepper.

Truffle Brussels Sprouts Ingredients
1 lb Brussels sprouts, blanched
1 Tbsp canned black truffles, julienne
1 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Blanch Brussels sprouts.  When ready to serve, melt butter, add truffles and brussel sprouts. Cook until sprouts are soft. Season with salt and pepper.  Note:  Use fresh truffles if available

Garnish
Pink sea salt
Fleur de sel
Aged balsamic vinegar

Ravioli di Ricotta
PAUL BARTOLOTTA - Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare/WYNN
Serves 6 (with extra ravioli filling and pasta for later)

This dish is very feminine. The dough is paper thin, soft, and supple.  The filling is sweet and creamy because the Pecorino cheese is melted on top.  There’s a great contrast between the sweetness of the marsala wine glaze and the cheese.   We’d drink a wonderful Brunello di Montalcino. 

Ingredients for ravioli dough
18 oz “00” soft wheat Italian flour
16 oz egg yolks       
Pinch of fine sea salt

Method
In a Kitchen-Aid using the hook attachment combine the flour, sea salt, and eggs. Mix on slow speed until dough forms. Remove from mixer and knead by hand until the dough is completely homogenous and elastic. (Approximately five minutes). Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
 
Ingredients for ravioli filling
18 oz sheep’s milk Ricotta or high quality cow’s milk ricotta
4 oz Pecorino (Academia Barilla “Gran Cru”) grated
2 oz Mascarpone cheese
4 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano 18 month (grated)
2 whole eggs (beaten)
Pinch fine sea salt
Pinch white pepper
Pinch nutmeg (freshly grated)

Method
Combine all ingredients together in a mixer, using the paddle attachment; mix the ingredients until just combined. Place in a pastry bag for assembly.

Ingredients for Marsala glaze
9 oz dry Marsala
9 oz red wine
9 oz demi glace
2 oz sugar
Pinch sea salt

Method
In a pot over high heat reduce the dry Marsala wine by three quarters. In a separate pot, reduce the red wine by three quarters. Add the demi-glace to your red wine reduction, and then combine with the Marsala reduction. Now warm the sugar in a tall saucepot, allow the sugar to melt over low heat. Continue to cook until a dark caramel forms. Very carefully pour the sauce mixture into the caramelizing sugar, stirring vigorously with a whisk. Be careful! This is very hot! Continue to cook for two minutes.  Strain and cool.

Method for ravioli
Using a hand pasta machine, roll out the dough into thin sheets (between 1 and 0 on the dial), passing the dough through on each setting from setting 10 down to 1 or 0. Cut the sheet of pasta into 12in pieces. Lay out one sheet of pasta on a flat surface. Using a pastry bag, pipe the ravioli filing in quarter size portions on the sheet of pasta. Mist the dough with water around each portion of filling and cover with another sheet of pasta. Press around each ravioli sealing and removing the air. Once sealed cut out each piece in a square shape with a fluted pastry wheel, making approximately five ravioli per portion.

Ingredients for final assembly
7 oz chicken stock
7 oz unsalted butter
5 oz Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
8 slices     Pecorino Academia Barilla “Gran Cru (thinly sliced)

Procedure to assemble the dish
On low heat in a medium saucepan boil the chicken stock and add cubes of cold unsalted butter stirring constantly. When emulsified, stir in grated Parmigiano until incorporated, Set aside, and keep warm.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the ravioli until the edges of the ravioli are tender and cooked through about 3 minutes. Drain the ravioli from the water and add them to the butter sauce and bring to a boil. The sauce should coat the ravioli. Arrange the ravioli on a large plate coating them with more butter sauce. Cover with sheets of thinly sliced pecorino cheese and then place the plate in the broiler to melt the cheese. Once melted drizzle the Marsala glaze on top and serve.

Medallions of Fallow Deer with Green Caramelized Apples
JULIAN SERRANO - Picasso/Bellagio

Fallow deer is very flavorful but not wildly gamey, and many wines pair well with it—a red from Priorat outside Barcelona, a Rhône Valley red, either Hermitage or Châteauneuf-du-Pape, or, if you’re feeling adventuresome, a Malbec from Argentina.

Ingredients
3 medallions of fallow (young) deer (venison)
2 cups of mirepoix
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup port
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
6 baby carrots (clean, peel, cook)
Bone marrow
1 Granny Smith apple carved into six segments and shaped like a 1/4 moon
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Bouquet garni
Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp clarified butter
3 shallots
6 tips asparagus (clean, peel, cook)

Preparing the sauce
In a large saucepan, use a small amount of oil to sauté the veal or venison bones (to make homemade stock).  When they have a rich, dark brown color, add the tomato paste, mirepoix, bouquet garni and drain off the oil.  Put bones back in the pan and add 2-1/2 quarts of water and cook for one hour.  In another pan, sauté finely diced shallots, wine and port and let the liquid reduce until it is almost all evaporated.  Then, add the stock to the wine reduction and cook for another 40 minutes.  Pass through the chinois and salt and pepper to taste.  This amount of sauce will be good for 8-10 people.

Preparing and Presenting the Fallow Deer
Salt and pepper the medallions.  Put in sauté pans with a little oil and cook over medium-high heat, to rare or medium rare.  I do not suggest to go over medium rare.  When done, reset.  In another sauté pan, put 2 Tbsp. butter and powdered sugar and sauté the apples for 25 seconds, until they are golden in color.  Check the tenderness with a pairing knife.  Place the medallions like three petals pointing out from the center of the plate.  On top of each medallion, place a dollop of bone marrow.  Between the outer tips of the medallions, place two pieces of apple curving outward like wings.  Between the arch of the apples, place one baby carrot inside of two asparagus tips. In the center of the plate, put just one Tbsp. of sauce.
 
Passionfruit –Tangerine Soup with Candied Buddha Hand and Frozen Lemon Meringue
CHARLIE TROTTER - Restaurant Charlie and Bar Charlie/Palazzo
Serves 4

For dessert, I prefer something light and fruit based. There are lichee berries, blood orange, and tapioca in the passion fruit soup.  It’s very sensual with a soft texture and is very pretty.  To drink I’d want a sweet sparkling Italian wine.

Candied Buddha Hand
1  Buddha  Hand
2 cup simple syrup

Method 
Starting with the base of the Buddha hand, slice the whole fruit into very thin pieces using a mandoline or mechanical slicer.)  Blanche the slices 2 times in lightly salted boiling water.  Drain the slices and place in a bowl.  Bring two cups of simple syrup to a boil and pour over Buddha hand.
Candied Tangerine Peel
Peel of 1 tangerine
1 cup simple syrup

Method 
Blanche the tangerine rind three times in lightly salted boiling water.  Slice tangerine peel very thin.  Cook the peel in simple syrup until the syrup thickens slightly.  Drain the peel and place on a drying rack or parchment paper.  Let dry overnight in an oven with the pilot light on.  When the peel is dry, chop into fine pieces.
Passionfruit – Tangerine  Soup
6-7 passionfruit
1/4 cup tangerine juice.  (reserve skins for candied tangerine rind)
1/4 cup water
2-4 Tbsp simple syrup
1 Tbsp Kuzu starch

Method
Cut passion fruit in half.  Scrape the seeds and juice into a bowl.  Add tangerine juice and water.  Pass all ingredients through a fine sieve. Reserve passion fruit seeds for garnish.   Season to taste with simple syrup.  Whisk kuzu starch into the cold soup.  Bring soup to a boil, stirring constantly until slightly thickened.  Cool  soup before serving.
Lemon-Olive Oil Frozen Meringue:
5 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
3 oz fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Method
Over a hot water bath, whisk together egg whites and sugar until hot.  Remove from heat.  Whisk in lemon juice and olive oil.  Add salt to taste. Pass liquid through a fine sieve.  Spin the base in an ice cream machine.  Freeze until ready to use.
Assembly of the dessert: 
Arrange the candied Buddha hand around the bottom of a shallow bowl.  Pour a small amount of soup into the bowl.  Scoop frozen meringue into the bowl.  Finish the dessert with pieces of blood orange, passionfruit seeds, candied pieces of tangerine, a drizzle of olive oil, lime zest, and lemon bergamot.   

My Favorite Chocolate Cake
WOLFGANG PUCK - Spago and Chinois/Forum Shops; Postrio/Venetian Canal Shoppes; CUT/Palazzo; Lupo/Mandalay Bay, etc.)
(Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, “Live, Love, Eat!” Random House, 2002)
Serves 8 to 12

I make a wonderful flourless chocolate cake that’s sure to delight the senses.  I love the simple things in life, and this flourless chocolate cake is made with just a few ingredients and tastes amazing.  For the best results, start with the finest-quality chocolate you can find.

Ingredients
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
5 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Unsweetened whipped cream, for garnish
Fresh berries, for garnish

Method
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter and flour a 10-inch round cake pan and line its bottom with a piece of parchment paper, using the pan as a guide to cut out the paper.

Bring a pan of water or the bottom of a double boiler to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a fare simmer.  In the top half of the double boiler, or in a heatproof bowl set over but not touching the water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring occasionally.  Set the chocolate-butter mixture aside.

In a mixing bowl, put the egg yolks and all but 3 tablespoons of the sugar.  Whisk them until the sugar has dissolved and the yolks are smooth.  Whisking continuously, slowly pour in the melted chocolate until thoroughly combined.

Put the egg whites and salt in a clean bowl.  With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted out.  Gradually sprinkle and beat in the remaining sugar and continue to beat until the egg whites form stiff but not dry-looking peaks with the beaters are lifted out.

Stir a dollop of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it.  Then, a third at a time, gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites just until thoroughly combined.  Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan.  Bake the cake until it looks firm and set but a wooden toothpick inserted into the center still comes out slightly moist, about 45 minutes.  Immediately turn the cake out onto a cooling rack by using potholders or oven gloves to hold the rack securely on top of the pan and then inverting them together and lifting off the pan.  Peel off the parchment paper.  As the cake cools, its center will sink and crack, but do not worry.

Before serving, put some confectioner’s sugar in a fine-meshed sieve held over the cake, and tap the sieve to dust the cake with sugar.  Cut the cake into wedges and serve with unsweetened whipped cream or berries.

Subscribe Today! - Click here.