Chiarello Blog

The quick and dirty secret is that serving wine at the right temperature is EVERYTHING when it comes to enjoying the wine. A $75 wine served at the wrong temp can taste like a $20, and conversely a $30 wine served at the perfect temp will be enjoyed like a $50 wine. Temperature affects how you taste fruit and acidity, so watch my tips on an you’ll be happy all summer long! Then stock your wine cellar for the summer season before the” heat shipping holds” start.

Am I the only chef who sometimes finds it difficult to stay creative in a bustling and busy restaurant? Yesterday, I was collaborating with my super talented chef de cuisine, Robert Hohmann, and we worked out a plan to tackle this problem. Together, we came up with a coaching tool that we hope will inspire us to develop techniques that we can pass on to the sous chefs who will then pass it on to the cooks. The benefits of this inspiration will be passed on to our customers.

We’ve mapped out three months of research — not of dishes, but of techniques.  We’re going to start if off by braising for the first two weeks.  Beef shanks, lamb shanks, goat shanks, oxtails, pork shoulders — all in various liquids like broths, vegetable-rich braises, confit, sous vides, goat’s milk, and sheep’s milk. Each day we’ll pair one type of meat with one type of braising, and we’ll measure our success over the weeks to determine which technique works best for each protein.  None of these are dishes that will be served to the customers; they’re the genesis of techniques that will later become the ideas for dishes.

Two weeks later we’ll try alternative flours for pasta and their best shapes, followed by whole fish cooked in salt crust, cooked in pastry dough, whole roasted or whole poached.

The intention is to build a trend in the low season to carry us through to the high season.  Techniques developed in low season, and the results of these techniques, will be applied to various dishes during the busiest time of years.  The idea is to take time when we have time, so we can save time when we don’t.  And hopefully, we’ll benefit with 12 months of recipe development.

I’m curious what my other Chef friends do to solve the same problem.  How do you maintain your creativity throughout the year in a busy kitchen?

My wife and I are big supporters of progressive education and are proud of Napa Valley’s Blue Oak School.  This year, we joined Napa locals and vintner friend Oscar Renteria, by hosting La Familia: Beneath the Canopy Wine Auction.   And when friends collaborate for a great cause – 35% of the student families receive financial assistance –amazing things happen.  In honor of the deep Hispanic roots in the Napa Valley, Oscar and I have created an event that celebrates the best in Mexican culture.  We’re pouring tequila from our friends south of the border as well as Napa’s own Charbay Tequila.  My favorite part?  With amazing heart and soul, I’ll be getting help from the experts –two of our Blue Oak abuelas will be preparing fresh tortillas with their friends at the auction.  Check out the amazing live lots here:  La Familia Live and Silent Auction Catalog . And if you can’t join, place your proxy bids on Harlan, Colgin, Barrett, or great trips to Napa Valley, New York and Argentina.

As an extra bonus, we are hosting an intimate dinner on March 2nd, to reflect a recent trip I took to Spain.  There are just 20 seats left for a “Night in San Sebastian.” Join us for a unique and unforgettable night –an authentic tapas bar and porron demonstrations (we’ve even got smocks!), and an interactive paella station.  All the food that evening will be paired with the unbelievable portfolio of wines offered by Renteria Wines .  This dinner is a great excuse for a night out if you’re a local, and an even better excuse to visit the Napa Valley for a long weekend if you aren’t!

Most of the people who know me well have asked me, “Why on earth would you choose to compete on Next Iron Chef?”

What makes someone with a thirty-year career and a busy restaurant decide to toss his toque into this ring?

The short answer is my competitive streak got the best of me. While the masterminds at Top Chef Masters sometimes asked us to do things that didn’t mesh with how I see my profession (make a meal from a vending machine?), Next Iron Chef has always been about skill. When I was asked to be on Next Iron Chef, part of me wanted to see if I had the chops, and a bigger part wanted to be included in a group for which I have enormous respect.

That’s the same reason I appeared on Top Chef Masters. I was interested in appearing on a popular show but I held out until there was a “mature” chef version. Then the thought of not cooking with that first season’s group – which included Rick and Hubert, Anita and Cindy – bothered me almost as much as not being in my restaurant for six weeks. (Oh, yeah, and worrying that I’d come off looking like an ass by the end of the show – there was always that concern.)

I thought about it for a long time before choosing to compete. Even while shows like Top Chef Masters and Next Iron Chef have possibly elevated the profession, there’s a kind of circus aspect to it that’s hard to ignore. On the one hand, my being on television does help fill the seats at Bottega. On the other hand, I’ve cooked in restaurant kitchens for thirty years – why do I want to take the risk, when it sometimes feels like I’m trying out for high school football all over again?

That, right there, might be the main reason why I decided to compete: I wanted to prove to myself – and the people watching – that my skills haven’t been put out to pasture.

I have a question for all you Next Iron Chef watchers: does an appearance on a television show change your opinion about a chef whose work you follow? If you were me, would you have chosen to compete on Next Iron Chef?

-Michael

One thing to keep in mind about Thanksgiving – and why it is my favorite holiday of the year – it’s a tradition that is fluid and always evolving just a bit, which keeps it interesting for me. A few years ago, due to family logistics, we moved our big Thanksgiving feast to Friday instead of Thanksgiving Day, and I’ll tell you it was so enjoyable we’ve almost never gone back! That gave us a lovely, family focused day on Thursday to hike, mushroom hunt, and cook at our leisure without the pressures of having to pull off the unthinkable meal in just half a day! Remember to give yourselves a break as you are cooking Thanksgiving, it is likely a meal that took the pilgrims a month to prepare!

When you’re cooking on Thursday you have the whole day to enjoy making the meal and spending this time with your family. By the time Friday hits, it’s just about presenting the dishes and hanging out in the kitchen. And our guests always seem much more relaxed having gotten through their epic Thanksgiving cooking challenge at their house, they come to ours for great stories and lots of good wine!

My Thanksgiving cooking tips for you are to keep the sides to a manageable minimum, and don’t be afraid to ask people to bring a dish as well, especially those family favorites like Aunt Marge’s green bean and mushroom soup casserole. My favorite side dishes, that add pizzazz to a well-dressed turkey, are: Panettone Stuffing, Cranberry Citrus Cressing, and for a more Italian twist, Pumpkin Pastina Risotto, served right in a pumpkin. All my Thanksgiving recipes can be found here.

The other great thing about cooking a small number of side dishes is that you can really devote yourself to the turkey. If there’s one piece of advice I could give year after year, it’s that brining matters! Take the time to brine your bird. If you’ve never brined a bird, or could use a few more pointers check out the video I did for Chow.

Just remember, Thanksgiving is a day for family and loved ones. Do yourself a favor – cut back on the side dishes, cut back on the over-the-top gigantic turkey, and spend your day with the people you care about, not your stove top.

And if you’re looking for something different to do with all those left overs, check my leftovers recipes, Thanksgiving Leftovers, great for Football Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

- Michael.