Interview with Chef Randy Wilder

I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat and I try to learn everything I can from the real professionals - I love to sit down with a chef and just chat about his craft.

 This week Chowbelly interviews local private chef, Randy Wilder who was trained at the culinary institute at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, SC – now there’s a spot ripe with culinary sensations!

 

Chef Wilder has worked in some of the area’s most prestigious kitchens but currently works as a private chef providing private, personal dining events in The Triangle.

 

Chef Wilder, what made you decide to become a professional chef?

 As I was growing up I was always on my mother’s hip watching her cook and asking questions. Eventually she let me help. By middle school I was cooking 3-4 dinners a week for my family. I loved watching cooking TV shows like Julia Child, Jacque Pepin, Yan Can Cook, and The Frugal Gourmet. By the time I was 14 or 15 I had pretty much decided that I loved the craft and that I wanted to be a chef.

 

So where has your career taken you and what are you doing now?

I have been very fortunate to work for some amazing chefs. In Atlanta I worked at Carbo’s Cafe, Blue Ridge Grill, The Abbey, Anthony’s. After moving to Raleigh, I worked for John Toler at Bloomsbury Bistro honing my skills. When he opened The Cosmopolitan in Cary I was offered the position of Chef de Cuisine in charge of daily menu execution and the staff. There I learned that my passion is events with multi-course, wine-paired formats such as the Triangle Wine Experience.  I love the relationship between food and wine. That passion led me to launch my personal chef business that focuses on private, personal, multi-course, wine-paired dinners in private homes.  I provide everything necessary for groups of 6 to 16 - linens, stemware, china, silverware – everything needed to entertain at the highest level without lifting a finger.

Who, in your personal life has influenced your cooking the most?

I have worked with many very talented people over the years. John Toler, chef/owner of Bloomsbury Bistro in Raleigh, has been the greatest influence on me. He has a unique approach and has impeccable standards. I really enjoyed the six years that I worked with him.

 

Do you have a favorite cookbook?

 I love the French Laundry Cookbook - it’s just beautiful. The Joy of Cooking, however, is my all time favorite. It covers it all!

 

What are your three most important cooking tools or gadgets?

 I’m a big fan of a good blender for great soups. You have to have a chinois for straining stocks and sauces, and I’d be lost without my Wustof Grand Prix Santuko.

 

Describe you most memorable meal – where was it, who were you with, why was it memorable?

 A few years back, my wife Tara and I travelled to wine country in California. We had an opportunity to eat at The French Laundry. We ordered a 9-course pre-fixe menu which ended up being about 12 courses! The food was amazing and Anthony Bourdain was taping his show “A Cook’s Tour” there. We got the chance to go into the kitchen and watch for a few minutes. Truly inspiring!

 

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to take it up a level at home and recreate some of the amazing dishes we have in favorite restaurants or see on television?

Try to learn as much as you can about the dish you are preparing. If you want to make something you had at a restaurant, don’t be afraid to call the chef, ask questions. Then try it. And if it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped, try again! Practice makes perfect.

 

What would you pursue if you knew you couldn’t fail and money was no object?

If money wasn’t an object I’d love to open a soup-kitchen for the less fortunate where I could offer well-prepared meals with excellent ingredients to warm people’s soul.

 

After speaking with Chef Wilder I really want to run out and take a look at The French Laundry cookbook!  I am really glad I got a chance to talk to Randy - if you have any questions or comments for him let him know by posting a Comment.

Watch for more exciting interviews with Chef’s from your favorite restaurants and beyond!

 

 

You might know that as I get more interested in using a particular ingredient - in this case, Honey, the prices sky-rocket and it becomes haute cuisine!! The Los Angeles Times has a great write-up about the complexity and depth in the various varieties of Honey!

The decadent dessert pictured above is a Wildflower Honey Shortcake with strawberries and honey-pinenut gelato and is served at Craft in Century City, CA.

Do you have a favourite dish that employs Honey? A favorite restaurant that has something equally as decadent? Let us know in the comments!

~ Chow!

 

Sophisto Joes - an improved version of the old classic Sloppy Joes from Gourmet Magazine and Epicurious.com

Last fall I saw a recipe in Gourmet magazine (October 2007) that was an upscale version of the old classic Sloppy Joes. I finally got around to looking at it and decided it might be a good choice for a dinner party we had with friends last weekend.

As usual I couldn’t avoid tinkering with it a bit. The original recipe used ground meat but I thought a truly upscale version would use chunks of steak and perhaps a red wine marinade.  The dish seemed to go over pretty well with our friends and the only change I might make next time would be to really take my time dicing the steak into smaller cubes - pieces about the size of pencil erasers seems just about right!

Sloppy Belly’s

This recipe reminds me of my Mom’s homecooking - I can almost smell the pot of sloppy joes simmering all afternoon just waiting for us kids to come in from the field to eat!  My Mom’s recipe, as funny as it sounds, came from a lunch-lady at my elementary school - it was bright and sassy - just like Mom so many years ago!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
3# lean steak - use whatever is on sale and try to get the thinnest steaks possible - 1/4″ is perfect!
1 bottle red wine - for marinades I really like Charles Shaw from Trader Joe’s (Also known as “2-buck-Chuck!)
Coarse Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
1 tbls cooking oil
1 tbls unsalted butter
1 large onion, minced
3 14oz. cans of crushed tomatoes - I found a national brand that has fire-roasted, garlic tomatoes - nice flavor to add!
2 tbls chili powder
1 tsp cumin
3 tbls worcestershire sauce
3 tbls brown sugar
2 tbls white vinegar
2 tbls yellow mustard
Kaiser rolls

Preparation:
To begin, the night before dice the meat into small cubes, place in a glass bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour in the red wine. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to marinate as long as you like, but no more than 24hrs.

At time of cooking, drain the beef in a colander and discard the red wine marinade. Place 1 tbls cooking oil into a large, hot skillet and add the beef. Cook on medium-high until browned, set aside. In a large sauce pot add 1 tbls unsalted butter and the minced onion. Cook over medium heat long enough to soften up the onions - they should be just translucent.  Add the beef, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and mustard. Mix through thoroughly and reduce heat to simmer covered as long as you like, stirring occasionally to make sure the flavor profile really comes together.

Toasting the Kaiser rolls really makes me happy - but you can serve these in just about any sort of roll from a hoagie roll to plain ole bread and be just as happy!

 

American’s drinking LESS coffee?

According to a Reuters report today, fewer Americans consider themselves daily coffee-drinkers.  It seems like more Americans are drinking what the report considers gourmet coffee (17% up from 14% in a 2007 survey) but overall those who consider themselves daily coffee-drinkers fell from 57% to 55%.  The biggest gap was in the 18-to-24 year old group where consumption fell from 37% in 2007 down to 26% in 2008.

Click here to read the Reuters article

 What do you think? Does this agree with your personal habits? Post a comment and let me know - as for me and mine? We are Starbucks addicts.

 

Chowbelly featured on BlogsWeLuv!

Recently my humble little blog here was featured on BlogsWeLuv - I am very honored and hope everybody will go check it out - click here.

*** Announcement ***
OK, by announcing it publicly perhaps it will spur me to get moving - I have been inspired by some new friends to launch Chowbelly-lite!! Stay tuned here to get more information on the countdown to a New Chowbelly!!

 

Scott’s Potato Corn Chowder

A recipe in the Washington Post titled  Pennsylvania Dutch Corn and Potato Chowder got me thinking about a family favorite of ours - I love throwing together hearty soups and chowders on a blustery day!

 

Scott’s Potato Corn Chowder

2 C. Corn
1 lb Smoked Sausage (diced in small 1/4″ chunks)
2 C. Milk
2 C. Heavy Cream
2 Cans Chicken Stock (14oz ea)
6 C. Russet Potatoes (cubed)
1 Stick Butter
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

 

In a hot skillet, melt a tablespoon of butter – add whole corn kernels and sauté until the sugars begin to caramelize and the kernels are slightly browned. In a large, heavy pot, lightly brown the smoked sausage and remove. Add a bit of the chicken stock to deglaze, then add the rest of the chicken stock and potatoes, boil until potatoes are soft and tender to the bite.  Reduce heat to simmer and add in the remaining butter, salt, pepper, cayenne and Old Bay seasoning, corn kernels and smoked sausage. Simmer 10 mins longer to let the flavors infuse.

 

My family loves this hearty chowder on a cold winter or fall evening with big chunks of sourdough bread slathered in real creamery butter!

 

New Friends & Good Food!

Rachel, Jack and I have recently started attending gracepoint, a community church in Pittsboro, NC. The people there have been amazing and the worship really helps us find our “grace” point. The Lead Navigator, Terry Dorsey, is an amazingly sweet soul who is akin to a cross between the Energizer Bunny and Zig Ziglar - positive energy defined! 

Earlier this week Rachel had another saliva gland removed (remember last June?) This time it was the larger sub-mandibular gland with an attached cyst the size of a golfball! Poor thing is really in a lot of pain and swollen up like a chipmunk! Our new friends at gracepoint have been wonderful calling to check on us, emailing and bringing us amazing meals that have been truly God-sent! For those of you who know how much I like to cook and eat, you can bet I am looking forward to an opportunity to repay their hospitality!!

If Martha or Connie happen to read this - Thank you so much for the wonderful meals!!

 

Chowbelly’s Highland Grits

As a Boy from Detroit, my exposure to grits came late in life and in a very non-traditional way. Not for breakfast with butter and salt & pepper like many of my good Southern friends are used to, but spicy, bold grits for dinner! Rachel’s family considered it preposterous! “What self-respecting Southerner would eat grits that way?”.  I finally convinced my beautiful bride to try them and she raved to her parents so much that I decided to surprise them one evening with a big steaming bowl of shrimp & grits! Of course they became reluctant converts - - but now I know the truth! After hearing about a pot of grits I made for a potluck at the local Moravian church my Father-in-law Ray said “Why dont you make some of your grits for Thanksgiving” Wooot! Thanksgiving! That’s a Grand Slam in our culinary life - thats like getting called to the big league!  Below is the recipe I am taking to dinner this afternoon.  Moravian’s checking this site for last Sunday’s recipe will see a slite modification in the addition of mushrooms - but everything else is pretty much the same.

Chow!

CHOWBELLY’S HIGHLAND GRITS

Ingredients
1 lb Chorizo Sausage
1 Thick Slice Ham, julienned
1 lb 61-70 ct Tail-off Shrimp
1/2 lb Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
1/2 C. Diced Sweet Onion
1 tbls Minced Garlic
1 C. Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
1 lb Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms
2 C. Old Fashioned Grits
3 C. Water
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp Zatarain’s Crab Boil
1 C. Sour Cream
1 C. Heavy Cream

Preparation:
Begin by preparing the chorizon - if it’s cased slice it in half and push the meat out of the casing like you would toothpaste. In a medium sized saute pan, brown and thoroughly drain the chorizo and set it off to the side. I prefer to line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towel and spread the drained meat over the paper towel to remove even more of the orange grease. Wipe out the pan and add 1/4 stick of the butter. Once melted add the diced onions and mushrooms and saute until translucent. As they are approaching the translucent stage add the minced garlic and saute briefly. Remove to a small bowl and set onion and garlic off to the side.  In the same pan add a bit more butter and add the julienned strips of ham. Let them fry up good with nice carmelization visible.  In a stainless steel pan you will see the remnants of your past few steps crusty on the bottom of the pan.  This is referred to as the fond and it is one of the best parts of any dish! Return the empty pan to the heat and add the chicken stock.  You dont want the chicken stock to boil, you just want to use it as an agent to loosen the bits from the bottom of the pan.  This is called deglazing the pan.  Scrape the bottom and stir things around - you really want to get that flavor off the bottom of the pan and incorporated into the chicken stock. YOu can add the remaining butter to the pan for added richness.  Next add the shrimp and remove from the heat.  The heat of the chicken stock and the pan will partially cook the fragile shrimp and they will continue to cook in the grits.  Now in a large pot bring the water to a boil and add the grits, as they begin to open up and absorb  the water stir in the chicken stock and shrimp into the mixture.  Add the onion and garlic to the grits and mix in thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the Zatarain’s crab boil, the cream and the sour cream. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl and top with layers of shredded cheese, chorizo and the julienned ham slices.

 

Best Sandwich EVAR!!??

This afternoon I was getting a little hungry after a particularly long conference call so I wandered down to the kitchen.  The pantry is a bit sparse since I am travelling so much. I wasn’t in the mood for an ordinary sandwich and I didnt really want to go to too much trouble because I had another call in a half-hour so I grabbed some roast beef, grated parmesan, raspberry jam and spicy brown mustard.  Mixing the mustard and jam together produces a yummy compound mustard that related very well to the roast beef and the parmesan dusted on the outside of the grilled sammich!  Being the loving sorta man that I am I made Rachel a sammich too and about a half-hour later she IM’d me upstairs and said “THAT WAS THE BEST SAMMICH EVAR! WHAT WAS THE SAUCE?” playfully I replied “Ancient Chinese Secret!”

 Now You Know! Shhhh!

 

Anniversary @ Holly Springs Moravian Church

Saturday night I was jonesin’ for a soda late in the evening - I told Rachel I was going to step out and get a soda and asked her if she wanted anything.  She told me then that we were going to Holly Springs Moravian Church in the morning to celebrate their 3rd anniversary - and oh yeah, there’s a potluck dinner after the service! Well that stopped me in my tracks, cause I am a glory-hound when it comes to cooking! I hadnt planned a thing! So I came back, sat down and launched the online version of my favorite grocery stores’ weekly ads to see what was on sale.  Opening Harris Teeter’s ad I see Pork Loin on sale! Say no more! My mind instantly started thinking Grilled Pork Loin Wrapped with Bacon!! So off I went to Harris Teeter in search of enough Pork Loin to feed a roomful of hungry Moravians!  As I walked into the store I was greeted by a beautiful display of juicy white peaches. Well, that changed everything - I knew I was still making the Pork Loin, but now I started thinking Peach & Pepper glaze! You’ve gotta love taking the best the earth has to offer in season and pairing it with fresh Carolina pork! Walking through the produce section I nabbed a couple of large, juicy peaches, a nice round, firm, sweet Vidalia onion, some various sweet and hot peppers, some vine-ripened tomatoes and a nice large bulb of garlic.  I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to put it all together, but it seemed like a good place to start.  When I got home this is how it all went down- 

Peach & Pepper Glaze
2 peaches peeled & diced small
1 large Vidalia onion diced small
3 vine-ripened tomatoes diced small
1 bulb (about 6 cloves) of garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
1 cup of sweet & hot peppers (your choice)
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white wine
1 can tomato paste
Kosher Salt
Coarse ground black pepper

As you’re dicing each ingredient, toss it into a large non-reactive pot like stainless steel or non-stick. Because of the acidic content of the tomatoes you really dont want to use a cast-iron pot unless you really love that metallic taste!

Once everything’s combined you can place it over a medium heat, stirring frequently. Because of the brown sugar you can’t get the heat too high or you’ll scorch the bottom of your pan and end up with a nasty charcoal flavor.  Heat it all together slowly until it’s simmering and then cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until proper thickening has taken place.  It’s best to do this the night before and refrigerate the whole pot to let the flavors combine overnight.  The next day about 10 minutes of simmering will pull all the flavors out! This recipe makes a large amount - enough to serve with a large pork loin and keep half back for a nice peach salsa!

Grilled Pork Loin
It’s best to start this the day before too - letting flavors combine overnight really adds complexity to your flavors.  For the grilled pork loin: start with a good chunk of pig, wash it thoroughly and trim any excess fat.  Pat it dry completely - its essential for the meat to be dry when you start applying the base for the rub.  I like to lay out a sheet of foil to wrap the loin in - that way none of the rub gets lost!  After combining the ingredients for my rub I slather the pork loin with plain yellow mustard - the kind that says Fancy Yellow Mustard on the jar, but its really the most ordinary kind I know! Then I just start rubbing the spices onto the meat. The mustard helps it cling and adds just a little extra zip to the finished product. I swaddle it all together in foil and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning I toss the whole package right into a 350 degree oven and let it roast for about an hour.  A few weeks ago I met Fred Thompson, the BBQ Nation author, at Barnes & Noble in Cary, NC. He told me that roasting meat in a foil pouch is what the professional BBQ’ers call a Texas Crutch and it’s a preferred method on the BBQ circuit.  The pork loin roasts in the oven for about an hour and then I take it out of the foil and roll it onto a BBQ grill for about 7-8 minutes per side over a medium heat just enough to carmelize it and get a nice crust on the outside.  Wrap it back up in foil to keep the heat in and let it stand for about 10 minutes before slicing. This time is important for all the pores to close back up and keep the juices sealed deep in the meat.  Carve it up, ladle some of the Peach & Pepper Glaze over the top and sit back and enjoy the compliments!

Pork Rub
1 tbs Kosher Salt
1 tbs Coarse Black Pepper
2 tbs Chili Powder
2 tbs Brown Sugar
1 tbs Paprika
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 - 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

It’s not every week the Moravian’s have a potluck - I just wish it was! In addition to my Peach & Pepper glazed Pork Loin there were a number of other equally yummy dishes that put me into a Sunday afternoon food coma. Michaela and the Marley-bunch had an incredible chocolate eclair cake, Hope’s awesome soup was enjoyed by everyone, there was an amazing au gratin potato casserole (not sure who made that, but it was great!), lemon pie, chocolate pie, Mmmm - too many other yummy things to even list!  Enjoy the recipe’s above!

If you’re not too sure what a Moravian is - check out this link: http://spmoravian.org/moravian.htm