Featured Article - July 2010
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SOUTHWEST FLAVOR
Taste by the Truckload
As the Santa Fe Opera's 54th season kicks off this month, three local chefs share tailgating dishes to cook yourself—or take out from their restaurants
Story by Michele Ostrove, photography by Douglas Merriam
Until I moved to Santa Fe last year, the word tailgatingconjured a vision of burgers, chips, and six-packs at a football stadium. That changed abruptly when I found myself packing a gourmet picnic and heading to The Santa Fe Opera, whose parking lot becomes a sea of linen tablecloths and well-dressed picnickers enjoying their movable feasts as they watch the sun melt behind the Jémez Mountains, before ambling to their seats in the opera house. This extraordinary venue has so refined the pastime that when you type in tailgatingon Wikipedia, the top result shows a photo of Santa Fe Operagoers.
At the opera, tailgate fare is limited only by your imagination and energy. The 2010 season is ripe for variations on a culinary theme, whether it’s Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, Spratlan’s Life Is a Dream, or Britten’s Albert Herring. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Once again, opening night (July 2) belongs to Madama Butterfly, which inaugurated the first Santa Fe Opera season, on July 3, 1957, was performed again when the rebuilt opera house was unveiled in 1968, and again in 1998, when that structure, now renovated, reopened. The beloved story of a young geisha disillusioned by a philandering American naval officer is considered America’s favorite opera. It calls for refined Japanese cuisine that delicately balances taste, texture, appearance, and color—and locally, that nod goes to Masayuki Hattori, owner of Sushi Land East, and known to his customers as Masa.
THE SANTA FE OPERA 2010 Season: July 2–August 28 Tickets start at $27. Performance dates are staggered so that operagoers from out of town can see more than one opera in a single visit. For specific dates: |
Or take inspiration from a classical musician turned restaurateur: Galisteo Bistro owner Rob Chickering came to Santa Fe from the Minneapolis Symphony in 1971 to play principal double bass for the Opera orchestra. These days, he applies his creative passion to orchestrating harmonious flavors in his cozy restaurant. Galisteo Bistro’s menu features eclectic international cuisine, handmade with local, seasonal, and organic ingredients whenever possible.
As a prelude to Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which premieres July 3, Chickering recommends a light summer salad made from local ingredients. “Going with the theory that the character Papageno was a locavore, foraging for food and gathering birds,” he says, “I would visit the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market to procure local vegetables, greens, feta, and piñons, and grill some local lamb or steak.” He suggests pairing the dish with a New Mexico wine, such as Milagro Chardonnay, Gruet Blanc de Noirs, D. H. Lescombes Mourvèdre, or Black Mesa Woodnymph Riesling.
RESOURCES For sushi: Sushi Land East, downtown Santa Fe, on Water St., west of La Fonda, (505) 820-1178 For Locavore Summer Salad: Galisteo Bistro, 227 Galisteo St., (505) 982-3700 For Alsatian Black Cherry Bread Pudding: Ze French Bistro, 311 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 984-8500 |
Premiering July 17, Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann is the dessert course of The Santa Fe Opera’s season, bringing it to a grand finale on August 28. The opera’s fanciful stories of failed love portray tremendous emotional depth and reveal Hoffmann’s musical brilliance. Sadly, the German-born French composer died while the opera was still in rehearsal, and left the score unfinished.
In Hoffmann’s honor, it’s only fitting that you provide a sweet ending for your tailgate party, and who better to offer it than a French chef who hails from Alsace, near the German border—where the opera, sung this season in French, is set? Laurent Rea, executive chef at Ze French Bistro, is a master of authentic French techniques, having worked with the likes of world-famous French chef Paul Bocuse before moving to Santa Fe’s O’Keeffe Café in 2007.
Today at Ze French Bistro, Rea likes to focus on the flavors of each dish and find the way it’s supposed to taste, but using my own touch,” he says. One of his favorite desserts is an Alsatian Black Cherry Bread Pudding made from leftover brioche, croissants, or other soft breads—perfect for August, when cherries are in season. For the coup de grâce, uncork a bottle of chilled, late-harvest Gewürztraminer, and offer a toast to Hoffmann, to the tasty food, to the magical setting—and to another unforgettable season at The Santa Fe Opera.
Writer and public relations specialist Michele Ostrove recently brought her passion for food and wine to Santa Fe, where she organized New Mexico’s first Restaurant Week. She was the founder of Wine Adventure, the first wine magazine for women.
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Locavore Summer Salad
Inspired by The Santa Fe Opera’s performances of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, chef Rob Chickering, of Galisteo Bistro, suggests this summer salad as an homage to its locavore main character, Papageno.
Salad
1 eggplant
1 bell pepper (red, green, or yellow)
1 red onion
other vegetables, as desired
3 garlic cloves, whole
olive oil to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1–1½ pounds local lamb, beef, chicken,
or yellowfin tuna, sliced on the bias
and marinated in your favorite dressing
or Cajun spices
½ pound orzo pasta
4 scallions, diced on the bias
¾ pound feta
¼ cup toasted piñon nuts
Dressing
Combine equal parts:
lemon juice
olive oil
salt
coarsely ground black pepper
Garnish
baby spinach
sprouts
heirloom tomatoes
basil leaves
Italian parsley, chopped
fresh chives, snipped
Chop veggies into bite-size chunks. Toss with garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, tossing once. Remove from oven and place in bowl with pan juices.
Marinate meat in your favorite dressing or Cajun spices. Grill to taste.
Cook orzo to al dente; toss with olive oil. Combine with vegetable mixture, adding scallions, feta, piñons, and dressing.
Arrange on bed of local baby spinach and sprouts. Garnish with heirloom tomatoes, a chiffonade of basil leaves, chopped Italian parsley, and chive snips. Serve at room temperature with grilled meat fanned on top.
Serves 4.
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Alsatian Black Cherry Bread Pudding
As a tribute to German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach, who wrote The Tales of Hoffmann, French chef Laurent Rea offers this delicious final act for your tailgate party.
1 pound leftover brioche, croissants,
or soft bread (or any combination)
4 cups milk
3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons kirsch or rum
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound fresh black cherries, pitted, halved
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Break bread into small pieces in bowl, cover with milk, and soak 25 minutes. In another bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and liqueur. Mix well. With strainer, remove bread from milk and add to egg mixture. In sauté pan, heat butter over medium heat, add cherries, and cook slowly 5 minutes.
Add cooled cherries and almonds to mixture and mix slowly.
Butter bottom and sides of medium baking pan, add bread-pudding mixture, and cover with foil. Bake about 40 minutes. Cut into squares and garnish with sauce (see recipe below). Can be served warm or cold.
Sauce
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons kirsch or rum
½ cup butter
1/8 cup water
Combine eggs, sugar, and liqueur in small bowl. Melt butter in saucepan, add mixture of eggs, sugar, and liqueur, and whisk over medium heat until sauce thickens. Add water, warm sauce, and remove.
Serves 8.
