111 West
FOOD
I was just out of school when I landed my first job in journalism at a fashion magazine in New York. Informed of my salary by the famously imperious editorial director, I quickly did some calculations.
Mmm, I’d make just enough for regular coffees twice per week at the Greek deli, intermittent dry cleaning, and a slab of cardboard to sleep on at the Union Square subway platform.
When I pointed out that occasionally I might have to eat, the editor gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and guided me firmly to his office door. “You’ll be covering parties and social events almost every night. Consider the free appetizers part of your compensation package.”
Chef Jean Paul in his kitchen.
I never went so far as to stuff blinis into my jacket pockets as Soviet apparatchiks were rumored to do during Cold War-era embassy parties, but I got to know my way around a steam table. I could snatch a canape off a passing tray like a bullfrog nailing a horsefly. I learned to avoid the crudités tray where double-dippers infamously pawed the veggies, and kept a sharp eye out for anything with smoked salmon or caviar. If there was even a hint of the tricolor on an invitation, of course I went. The French serve the best hors d’oeuvres. They invented them.
A similar ubiquity of little bites dominates entertaining throughout our valley, especially between October and May. After just a few months of soirée-crashing, I’m beginning to believe there might be no place on Earth with more variety. From sushi to tapas, mini tacos to skirt steak satay, thumb-sized sliders to fois gras truffles, the Coachella Valley is a veritable United Nations of amuse-bouches.
The hickory smoked salmon.
This is a daunting place to set out one’s own appetizer tray. Dried onion soup mix and sour cream dip with ridged potato chips won’t cut it. Not even ironically. I needed help. So I turned to the masters.
For those of you new to the valley or subjected to a long-term cryogenic experiment, Le Vallauris is the venerable French restaurant at the very west end of Tahquitz Canyon. Located in the historic Robeson House, built by the son of Palm Springs pioneer Nellie Coffman, Le Vallauris’ tree-shaded alfresco dining may be one of the most serene in the valley.
A quail egg with caviar.
Not long ago an article in a major metropolitan newspaper lamented the disappearance of the classic French restaurant in this country. Le Vallauris has never had to deviate from a classic French formula: superb ingredients, subtle flavors, and impeccable service. For nearly 43 years it has been under the direction of co-owner Paul Bruggemans, and although its imitators have been many, none has been its equal.
Chef Jean Paul Lair has been at Le Vallauris for almost 30 years, 20 of them as the executive chef. A tall, amiable man who found his calling in his native spa town of Vichy, he carried his career passion into his marriage. “I’m married [to] a woman who loves cooking, and she’s very, very good,” he says proudly. “A lot of things she does better than I.”
The long, narrow kitchen at Le Vallauris is quiet and nearly empty on this mid-November morning. The cacophony of the mall-replacing-mall apocalypse across the street does not intrude into Chef Jean Paul’s domain. He explains that what we’re going to do this morning is not complicated. Like all great French cooking, the success of the appetizers depends on how carefully we handle superb ingredients.
The six appetizers Chef proposes to make this morning — lobster sausage, chèvre and tapenade cigar, smoked salmon and guacamole, quail egg and caviar, cubes of buffalo mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto, and stuffed fingerling potatoes — are less about cooking than about flavors, textures, and construction.
The lobster sausage, in particular, sounds agonizingly complicated and prone to expensive failure, right?
“The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on humanity than the discovery of a new star.” — Brillat Savarin
Chef Jean Paul dumps the ingredients into a food processor that looks like it flew on the early Apollo missions, turns it on, and slips a raw egg into the churning mousse. Fifteen seconds later, he scoops the mousse into a clear pastry bag, ties off the end, and puts it aside. He lays out a long piece of plastic wrap on the prep area and slowly squirts a foot-wide line of mousse about the diameter of a rubusto cigar in the middle of the wrap. He carefully rolls it up and twists the ends. With a few shakes, he compresses the filling and ties off the ends. Nearby, a pan is simmering on the stove. He lays the sausage in the hot water. After a few minutes of prepping the other appetizers, he removes the sausage and lays it aside to cool.
Forty-five minutes later, all the appetizers are finished and Chef takes the tray of treats out into the courtyard. Sitting in the shade of Le Vallauris’ trees, we nibble and chat. There’s something to be said for every appetizer, but the lobster sausage sings. It is silky and firm. The shellfish are surprisingly subtle, enhanced perfectly by the basil and the bite of the togarashi.
It’s love at first bite.
Although Chef Jean Paul’s lobster sausage sounds daunting, it is a surprisingly easy appetizer to make for your guests this season.
Chef Jean Paul’ s Lobster sausage
Ingredients:
• ½ pound cooked lobster meat
• ½ raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 whole egg
• 2 teaspoons fresh herbs (tarragon, basil, chervil — your choice)
• chili powder, a pinch (amount of your choice depending on how spicy you would like it)
• salt, pinch
Put everything in a food processor except the egg and the fresh herbs. Let run for about 5 minutes until mixed together, then add the egg and fresh herbs, and incorporate into the mixture.
Place the lobster and shrimp mixture in a pastry bag and tie the top. Cut an opening ½ inch wide at the bottom. Lay plastic film on your cutting board and squeeze the mixture from one side to the other, one-third from the bottom of the film. Roll the film and tie it at both ends to secure. The sausage should be about ½ inch in width.
Poach the sausages in simmering water for 5 to 7 minutes depending on the size. Cut the sausage into the size you would like and place them on skewers to serve. Serve the lobster sausage skewers with bisque or other sauce of your choosing. Serves 6.