It's been said that many professional chefs have an "attitude."
But Chef Andrew Melville's problem is altitude.9,000 feet, to be exact.
And with fall in the air, you leaf-lookers might soon be motoring into the atmosphere where orange, golds and reds tinge dying leaves.
And on such an autumn adventure, a stop at one of the beehive state's unique alpine restaurants is always a nice reward for the already "nature-appetized" fine food-seeker.
But although the mystical mountains seem to wrap us in fresh-air cocoons of worry-free relaxation, lurking somewhere in the soon-unleafy treetops is that altitude thing.
Most of us are faintly familiar with the differences in sea-level cooking and frying up something in Farmington.
Well, professional chefs REALLY have to adjust to the "heightened" experience of cooking if their kitchens are located in the mountains.
Chef Melville, trained in New England and California, and presently cooking at Solitude's Roundhouse Restaurant, knows all about tailoring recipes for higher altitudes.
"Cooking mid-mountain is a great challenge," he says.
"Getting the food I need for the menu I've prepared is also a challenge," he notes.
With great gourmet offerings at most of Utah's world-class ski resorts, top-quality ingredients and the finest produce must be delivered from purveyors in the valley below.
Not an easy task, especially in inclement weather.
Melville's quest is to create a menu using the freshest ingredients, using the available foodstuffs that are trucked up the canyon to his kitchen.
Sometimes, the food brokers can't get a certain ingredient. In that case, the chef must "roll with the punches" and adjust the menu. (No duck? Switch to pork!)
But that altitude thing remains the biggest challenge.
Utah's official elevation is 4,330 feet above sea level, and since the Salt Lake Valley is located atop Bonneville's old lake bed and along its shores, this can vary from a 4,200 to 5,200 feet.
Mountain cooking requires development of a "second sense" about cooking times. There's no black-and-white rule.
The "Dictionary of Food and Drink" lists several useful high altitude hints - help for all those chefs up in "them thar hills," and for all the "valley chefs" below.
- Boiled foods take longer to cook at high altitudes. Also, the liquids may need to be increased.
- Foods like dried beans and peas take longer to cook at high altitudes and may require more liquid than at sea level.
- Foods stored at high altitudes dry out more quickly than those at low altitudes. That means that an ingredient such as flour is drier and will absorb more liquid. Therefore, slightly more liquid or less flour may be required for cake batters or bread and cookie doughs to reach the proper consistency.
- For baked goods leavened by baking powder or baking soda: At an altitude of 5,000 feet - reduce leavening by 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon for each teaspoon, reduce sugar by 1/2 to 2 tablespoons for each cup, and increase liquid by 2 to 4 tablespoons for each cup; at an altitude of 7,000 feet - reduce leavening by 1/4 teaspoon for each teaspoon, reduce sugar by 1 to 3 tablespoons for each cup, and increase liquid by 3 to 4 tablespoons for each cup.
- No recipe adjustment is suggested for yeast breads baked at high altitudes. However, letting the dough rise twice before the final pan rising allows it to develop a fuller flavor. Increasing the baking temperature by 25 degrees will help set the crust faster so bread will not overrise during the oven-spring that takes place the first 10-15 minutes of baking.
- Increase the baking temperature by 25 degrees for cakes and cookies, slightly decrease baking time.
A lot to remember?
Just an altitude adjustment!
*****
Additional Information
Recipes
GRILLED SALMON WITH CUCUMBER VINAIGRETTE
4 salmon fillets
4 cucumbers
3 tablespoons salad oil
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Sugar to taste (1 tablespoon)
Rub salmon fillets with olive oil. Season and grill to desired doneness.
For Vinaigrette
Peel and seed cucumbers. Pulse in food processor until chunky. Combine salad oil, fresh dill, vinegar and sugar. Mix with cukes (it is a chunky-style vinaigrette). Serve at room temperature with grilled salmon. Serves 4.
- Each serving contains 376 calories, 21 g fat, 11 g carb, 79 mg sodium, 91 mg cholesterol.
- From Chef Andrew Melville, Roundhouse Restaurant
CHICKEN BREASTS WITH SAGE AND ROASTED GARLIC
4 chicken breasts
12 garlic gloves, roasted with peel on
8 whole sage leaves
1 cup dark chicken stock
Season chicken breasts and sear in hot pan with oil/butter mixture. (Look for nice brown color on skin.) Turn over chicken and add stock, garlic and sage. Place in hot oven (450 degrees) until chicken is done, about 8-10 minutes. Place on plate with garlic and sage as garnish. Sauce in pan should be reduced and thickened. Pour over chicken. Serves 4.
- Each serving contains 412 calories, 16 g fat, 4 g carb, 334 mg sodium, 166 mg cholesterol.
- From Chef Andrew Melville, Roundhouse Restaurant
PRUNE AND LEEK POTATOES
2 medium yams, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
5 baking potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
10 prunes, cut in half lengthwise
1 leek, cut in 1/2-inch by 1/2-inch pieces
5 cups cream
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons fresh oregano
Salt and pepper
Place a third of the potatoes in a buttered casserole dish. Layer yams on top of potatoes (should be about halfway up casserole). Scatter leeks and prunes over yams. Finish with layers of potatoes on top. Press down. Combine cream, honey, oregano, salt and pepper and pour mixture over potatoes. Bake in 350-degree oven, periodically pressing potatoes down. Cook until potatoes are not firm, approximately 1 hour. Let rest approximately 15-20 minutes before serving (to allow potatoes to set). Serves 12.
- Each serving contains 399 calories, 31 g fat, 29 g carb, 218 mg sodium, 110 mg cholesterol.
- From Chef Andrew Melville, Roundhouse Restaurant
BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND PEAR SOUP
3 Spanish onions, julienned
1/4 cup fresh thyme, chopped
1/8 cup fresh sage, chopped
1/4 cup butter
3 pears
4 butternut squash
Chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons blue cheese
Saute onions with herbs in butter until translucent (not carmelized). Peel and core pears and add briefly to onion. Saute for 4 minutes. Cut butternut squash in half and remove seeds. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg; cover and bake at 350 degrees until very soft, approximately 45 minutes. Let cool, peel and cut up. In soup pot put squash, pears and onions with enough chicken broth or water to cover. Season to taste. Cook until pears are soft. In food processor, blend soup in batches with additional butter (optional) and continue to season if necessary. Strain soup and garnish with crumbled blue cheese. Serves 8-10.
- From Chef Andrew Melville, Roundhouse Restaurant
CARROT APPLE GINGER SOUP
2 onions, julienned
8 carrots
1 celery stalk
3 apples, peeled, cored
1/4 cup fresh ginger
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetable stock
Yogurt
Fresh dill
Saute all ingredients (except vegetable stock, yogurt and fresh dill) until vegetables are soft. In soup pot, cover with stock and simmer 20 minutes. Puree in food processor in batches with butter (optional). Strain. Serve with yogurt and fresh dill. Serves 8.
- Each serving contains 114 calories, 1 g fat, 28 g carb, 324 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol.
- From Chef Andrew Melville, Roundhouse Restaurant
GRILLED MEDALLIONS OF BEEF
Marinade:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup honey
4 medallions of beef tenderloin, 11/2-inches thick
Sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup white wine or apple juice
1 tablespoon sugar dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup pureed mango
1/4 cup beef stock
To make marinade:
Place 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons minced onion, 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1/4 cup lime juice and 1/4 cup honey into a shallow bowl or baking pan. Mix together and add the beef medallions, and allow them to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. While beef is marinating, make sauce.
To make sauce:
In a saute pan over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add 1/4 cup chopped shallots and cook, stirring for a minute. Add the 1/4 cup white wine or apple juice, 1 tablespoon sugar dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water, 1/2 cup pureed mango and 1/4 cup beef stock. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove the beef medallions from the marinade and grill or saute until they are cooked to the point of doneness that you prefer. Place the medallions on serving plates and pour the warm sauce on top. Serves 4.
- Each serving contains 604 calories, 38 g fat, 31 g carb, 168 mg sodium, 74 mg cholesterol.
- From Grand Bay Hotel, Coconut Grove, Florida
MACADAMIA BROWNIES
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, at room tem-per-ature
1/4 cup light corn syrup
4 eggs
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch processed pre-ferred
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put a light coating of butter or margarine onto an 11-by-17 or 15-by-10-inch jelly-roll pan, then line the pan with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, salt, butter or margarine, and corn syrup. Add the eggs, cocoa, vanilla, flour and 11/2 cups of the nuts. Mix together thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. You can test for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of the pan. If the toothpick comes out free of moist batter, the brownies are fully cooked. Let cool at room temperature. Makes 24 brownies.
- Each serving contains 308 calories, 20 g fat, 29 g carb, 108 mg sodium, 36 mg cholesterol.
- From Chef Dominique Jamain, Kahala Hilton.