Pike Place Market Sunday Chef Cooking Demonstration July 25, 2010

I love carrots.  I like the flavor and the color and the endless ways to prepare it.I like them raw, roasted marinated, baked, fried and pureed. Their tastes can range far and wide depending on the variety and how they are prepared.

In my early days as the chef at Campagne and Café Campagne my love of carrots went a bit too far.  I had prepared a summer menu to be evaluated by the owner.  He said: “what’s up with all the carrots?”  Apparently it was a menu fit for Bugs Bunny.

I had a particular recipe where I diced them really really small and blanched them in salted water and then marinated them in truffle oil.  I called the preparation vegetable caviar.  I think I tried to put it on every fish special I made for a while.  But that’s how it is when you get obsessed with things.  You do not realize that the rest of the world doesn’t love it as much as you do.

My goal now is to get you to share my obsession with carrots and give it the rightful place in you cooking repertoire.  In the summer when they are in abundance, I think it is good to have some options. These are three ways that we prepare it a Campagne and café Campagne.

Carrot Salad

1 # organic carrots

12 each garlic cloves, fresh

3 lemons, juiced

1 T Dijon mustard

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Blender

Wash, then peel bunched organic carrots. Make thin slices by using a Japanese mandolin. In blender, combine 12 medium fresh garlic cloves and the juice of three lemons, 1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard, puree until smooth, and then add olive oil in steady stream until thick and creamy. Pour vinaigrette over carrot slices and marinate at least 1 day. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. These need a minimum of one day to taste good. The day of marinating will allow the carrots to release some of their juice and mix with the marinade and then you will get this pale creamy carrot colored vinaigrette that is really delicious.

Now the magic of this dish is in two places.  First: the carrots.  Then it is in the garlic cloves.  When the garlic is relatively fresh in the growing season, it has a softer slightly moister consistency, since it hasn’t been left to dry as most of the garlic you find in the store (which are perfectly good, by the way). Most of the time when we make creamy vinaigrettes in restaurants, we use an egg or at least and egg yolk as an emulsifier (this stabilizes the vinaigrette and keeps the oil from separating). The fresh garlic is a great emulsifier, so along with a little mustard you are able to make a purely vegetarian vinaigrette which has great creamy consistency.

Currently at Café Campagne, we use this salad on salad Nicoise plate along with lots of traditional things like egg, tomato, tuna, potatoes and marinated vegetables.  We also use it on a tartine which is made with this fantastic bread from Grand Central bakery.

I must give credit to one of my culinary heroes, Joel Robuchon (  http://twitpic.com/28nen7 )as I was inspired by a preparation years ago in his first book Simply French.

Glazed Carrots

I pound organic carrots, peeled and sliced thinly, discs or sticks, your choice.

Water to cover

2 Table spoons butter, unsalted

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pinch sea salt

Fresh herbs: parsley, basil or mint

A shallow stainless steel sauté pan (straight and short sides)

The heart of the glazed carrots is the French technique of glazing vegetables.  This is one of those things you learn very early on at culinary school or in French kitchens and I think it remains very useful. It is a technique that can be used with other root vegetables: celery root, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, even beets, though I think it is best with carrots.  At the heart of things is keeping the flavor by keeping the juice.  Typically when carrots need to be cooked, they get boiled.  Boiling gets the carrots to a point where they are easier to eat and digest-meaning softer.  The problem is, when you dump the water, you dump most of the flavor and vibrancy that was in the carrots.  Glazing helps you keep that juice and that is where the flavor is.

Here is the procedure:

Place prepared carrots in sauté pan.  Add enough water just to cover the carrots; and a pinch of salt, little sugar and a couple tablespoons of butter.   Bring the water up to boil, then, turn it down to a simmer.  At this point, allow the carrots to cook gently until they just get tender.  If the water goes down below the level of the carrots, before they are finished cooking, add more water. When the carrots are ready, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and hold them on a plate.  Turn up heat and return the liquid to a boil.  Continue to boil until the liquid reduces and begins to get a little thick and glossy and there is just enough to coat the carrots.  At this point return the carrots to the pan and gently coat in the glaze.  If more time is needed to heat the carrots, add a little water and heat until hot and glazed. The combination of sugar, butter and the carrots juices create the glaze. Finally finish the dish with your favorite soft herbs, parsley, basil, mint, tarragon, even chervil.

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It’s getting near July 14th, which means it’s almost time for our annual Bastille Day party!

As in years past, we’ll celebrate in two different ways.

First, the Post Alley Party for the Revolutionaries!

From 3pm – 10pm we’ll be claiming the whole alley to celebrate French independence with wine, beer and street food starting at $5.

-grilled garlic sausage sandwiches
-pommes frîtes with aïoli
-beef and veggie brochettes
-baguette sandwiches: brie; ham & gruyère; pâté
-tarte flambée
-fromage
-macarons

We’ll also have live music featuring

-The Djangomatics
-Bric-à-Brac
-The Blue 4 Trio
-Zazou!

and Burlesque from The Shanghai Pearl! As well as Can-can Dancers throughout the night!  We’ve even set aside Campagne’s upstairs courtyard and lounge for spill-over of the street party.

Meanwhile, upstairs in Campagne’s dining room, Chef Daisley Gordon is offering his 7th annual “Storming the Palace Larder” five course dinner for $50 per person!

Coddled Duck Egg with grapeseed oil and maple syrup

Pork confit canneloni with English pea foam

Cucumber soup with olive oil sabayon and golden whitefish roes

Truffled Free-range chicken with wilted lettuce and natural jus

Guafres (waffles) with fresh strawberries

Reservations are strongly recommended.  Service is from 5pm – 10pm.

We’re showing the World Cup in Campagne’s Lounge upstairs!

On Thursday, June 17th our bar will open at 11am to show the France vs Mexico, which starts at 11:30am.

Beer and wine will on hand as always and  chef Daisley Gordon has put together the perfect combination of great snacks to watch the World Cup in style!  And all the food is an easy $5!

We’ll be serving mini croque monsieurs (little ham and cheese sandwiches) , our irresistible frîtes (french fries)  fennel tempura,  socca (a chickpea crèpe) and fish fritters.

Come and help us cheer on both teams and enjoy  some great football!  We had great fun at the England v. United States game on Saturday. We look forward to seeing you.

There is little that whisks us away to our dream of Paris more readily than the classic French petit déjeuner in the morning sunshine.  Taking a moment to savor some coffee, some juice, a small pastry and a baguette with some confiture, watching the world and its denizens hustle about; these are what the French refer to as les petits plaisirs, the small pleasures.

So, in response to popular demand from both locals and visitors alike, Café Campagne will offer breakfast during the week starting today, June 1st, serving from 8am until lunch begins at 11am.  Expect to see favorites like the Oeufs en meurette, the Omelette Choisy, our house-made chicken and pork sausage and even new house-made patisseries! Check out a .pdf of our menu.

At this point, le petit déjeuner is planned only to go through the summertime from today until Labor Day weekend.  Reservations are available by phone (206.728.2233) or online.  Come by and visit us soon!

With May swinging in looking like summer will be fantastic, we’re turning our sights to Provence.

Chef Daisley Gordon has put together a great, three course menu that will run for the rest of the month.

First course:

Bagna Cauda, raw vegetables with a hot anchovy sauce

A classic, light first course.  The fresh vegetables will vary but in the picture are cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, fennel and celery.  The anchovy sauce is made from garlic warmed in olive oil, red wine vinegar and butter.  It adds a salty richness to the crisp vegetables that screams sunshine snack.

Second course:

Brandade de Morue, salt cod and potato purée, baked with garlic and olive oil and served with sautéed green beans and black olives.

Here we hollow out yellow potatoes and stuff them with the brandade, which actually has a little halibut in it as well! The green beans are sautéed with shallots, garlic and olive oil.  Although they’re missing from the picture, the olives add a wonderful contrast to the fluffy richness of the brandade.

Third course:

Navettes de la Chandeleur

Fruit sorbet and Marseilles cookies flavored with orange flower water.Pictured here is cantaloupe sorbet, although that will vary from week to week.  The Marseilles cookies are a little bit hard (since they are a yeasted cookie) and are not too sweet, off-setting the crispness of the fruit sorbet quite nicely.

Have you ever wanted to try a really great wine for the price of a really nice wine?

This Thursday, May 6th, you’ll get that chance.

Follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/Cafe_Campagne) and tune in on Thursday morning to get the special Twitter Thursday password.  
Call us and make a reservation for dinner that night with the password (or just apply it to an existing reservation for that night) and you’ll get the 2004 Étienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne at a generous price.  If it were on our wine list (this is an exclusive offering that is in our cellar but not on our wine list) it would be priced at around $225 a bottle.  With the Twitter Thursday password, you’ll have the rare opportunity to have a bottle with your dinner* for only $125.

About Étienne Sauzet, Clive Coates says in his Wines of Burgundy:

“Gérard Boudot, married to a granddaughter of the late Étienne Sauzet and brother-in-law of Henri and Jean-Marc Boillot, is one of Puligny’s most gifted winemakers.  He produced his thirty-second vintage in 2005.  He now works with his daughter Émilie and her husband Benoît Riffault.  In the late 1990s, he compensated for what he had lost when some of the Sauzet domaine passed to Jean-Marc by acquiring a merchant’s license. Everything is vinified and stored in the same cellar.  Splendid wines are here. Only white wines are produced.  They are vinified at about 20 degrees Celsius; bâtonnage takes place “if necessary.”  The premiers crus and grands crus are bottled after 18 months.”

A reviewer from cellartracker.com says:
“Divine aromas of key lime, quince, white peach, limestone and fresh flowers are explosive, while the flavors are still remarkably tight across the palate, with layers of ripe pulpy white fruits that develop breadth as they cross the palate. The finish adds in the minerality and Sauzet’s typical intense acidity. This is divine…”

*-with the purchase of two main course dishes.  Only 4 bottles available.

May is the time when we begin to peek around the corner of springtime to glimpse the simple pleasures of summer.  In the spirit of anticipation of these aestival joys, Chef Daisley Gordon and Sommelier Cyril Frechier will be touring the sun-drenched region of Provence in southeastern France.  Throughout the month the café will offer three courses and a selection of wines intended to showcase the colorful diversity of Provence’s cuisine and viniculture.

Join us on Wednesday, May 19th, when Chef Gordon will add a special hors d’oeuvre course to accompany May’s featured three course menu, celebrating the bounty of Provence.  Cyril will personally pair our featured wines with these dishes and discuss the region and its venerable wine heritage.

Reservations are limited to 24 guests, and the cost is $85 per person, including food, wine, tax and gratuity.

Reservations are only available by calling the Café at 206-728-2233.

This month the Café is focusing on the Loire region of western France. Following the longest river in France, the Loire, some of the area has shifted sovereignty throughout history between the French and the British, with even a bit of linguistic influence from the Celts in nearby Breton. Famous for its illustrious Châteaux, it also brings an incredibly diverse offering of wines and cuisine.

The first course is a Salade Tourangelle, which means a salade made in the style of the city of Tours, located the middle to middle-east part of the Loire region.  Common vegetables in the region are artichokes, asparagus, green beans, and mushrooms, most often the Champignon de Paris, so you’ll find the latter two marinated and then tossed in a creamy mustard vinaigrette for this salad.  We dress some celery with lemon and toss all this together to be finished on the plate with a couple rillons.  These are chunks of pork belly that are marinated with white wine and herbs for twenty four hours, braised and then crisped in fat to make a rich, textured addition to the salad.

The second course is Cuisse de Lapin aux Pruneaux.  Although often a dish made with pork, this rabbit variation is exquisite.  The leg is marinated in red wine, browned then braised in red wine and chicken stock.  The last half hour of the braising, port-soaked prunes are added.

The third course, the traditional Pain d’Épices, which literally translates as “Bread of Spices”, is a dense bread made with cinnamon, clove, cardamom, anise seed and honey.  The bread itself serves as a wonderful bed for a house-made honey ice cream.

We’ll have this available for dinner all month long.  We first started serving it last night and sold out of it by about 8:30! Needless to say, we’ll be happy to prepare more to meet the demand.   The whole meal is $35.00 per person.  Hope to see you soon!

Keep an eye out for another post later this weekend about the wines we’ll be featuring this month too!

Matt Longman

Bordeaux lies in the western region of Aquitaine, a province that was surprisingly under English control from the twelfth century, thanks to the marriage of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine until   the end of the Hundred Years’ War in 1453.

Geographically, the region is split from the northwest by the Gironde estuary, which is fed by two rivers: the Garonne which comes down from the Pyrenees and then turns northwestward from Toulouse, and the Dordogne, which begins southern central France in the region referred to as the Massif Central, near Limousin and Limoges.

As we focus our sights on Bordeaux and its culinary traditions, the breadth of the region’s lexicon of ingredients offers a veritable bounty of choices.  Mushrooms, in particular the cepe, are prominent in the pine forests south of the Gironde estuary.  Lamb and duck are prominent throughout, from the agneau de Pauillac, or “milk-fed lamb” to the famous foie gras of the more inland areas Périgord and Dordogne.  The Agen prune is the more flavorful European counterpart to our softer California prunes.  Walnuts are plentiful as well.  In fact, many locals have their own walnut trees, to the extent that many will harvest enough walnuts from their own property to sell them to the local mills for consumer production!

Located in the north and south parts of Aquitaine, respectively, Cognac and Armagnac are the world-renowned French brandies made in the specific areas surrounding the towns that are their namesake.  Finally, Bordeaux’s eponymously-name sauce, Bordelaise, includes a classic combination of red or white wine and marrowfat, with nearly infinite variations thereof.

Our French 101 menu in January showcases the Bordeaux region with a little bit of local northwest flavor.  Three course for $30, we begin with a haricots verts salad that evokes a classic dish from the nearby Périgord area , what we call Haricots verts en salade avec tartine.  Simple green beans are marinated in lemon verjus with parsley and garlic and topped with a large, toasted slice of peasant Levain bread, on which we spreadbeurre de gascogne, made from shallots reduced in red wine, cooled and whisked into rich clarified duck fat.  The second course is our Pleurotes Bordelaises.  Instead of the traditional cèpe mushrooms, we have sourced King Oyster Mushrooms from Vancouver to be cooked slowly in a bit of duck fat and finished with a sauce of parsley, garlic and white wine and paired with a house-made roasted pork sausage.  We finish the meal with Roquefort Coccinelle, accompanied by a couple of Bordeaux’s usual suspects: walnuts, toasted and steeped in honey, and cognac prunes.

Café Campagne will be celebrating Bordeaux with this unique dinner menu through the rest of January.  Please come in to take a little trip to Bordeaux with us!

Next blog post: By the bottle breakdown of the Bordeaux wine feature for this month!