Richard Frisbie was served dashi in the formal dinning room at Blantyre Inn, Lenox MA
exquisite lily arrangement in Dresden china vase
This recipe is from the book: The World of Blantyre & the Cookery of Christopher Brooks. ($70)
The stunning coffee-table book is filled with the history of this 5 star luxury inn in the Berkshires and the recipes that have earned Blantyre the coveted distinction of Grande Chef Relais & Chateaux and a five-star Mobil Hotel award. Blantyre is considered to be one of the best hotels in the world. After staying there last weekend I can but agree. Chef Brooks kindly allowed me to videotape him as he made this broth in his kitchen during my visit. The video shows him to be an accessible, very practical and accomplished chef. I hope you enjoy viewing it.
dashi served over Maine scallops in a mold
Dashi
3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 scallions sliced into ½ inch pieces
1 inch cube fresh ginger peeled and chopped
½ stalk lemon grass chopped
1 tsp dark brown sugar
½ sheet nori torn into 3 or 4 pieces
3 Tbls soy sauce
1 qt water
Put the mushrooms scallions, ginger lemon grass, sugar and nori in a saucepan. Add water and soy sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cool and refrigerate for 2 days to infuse the flavors.
To serve: strain the dashi broth, discarding the solids. Bring broth to a boil and pour over (it was served to me over Maine scallops in a ring - see photo) room temperature seafood or chicken on a bed of shredded fresh vegetables for a light and flavorful (but low calorie) lunch, or a dinner fish course. This versatile broth will figure in many of your favorite dishes because it adds intense flavor to any meal.
The World of Blantyre & the Cookery of Christopher Brooks. ($70)
9x12 hardcover 240 pages - 167 pages of beautiful photographs, some history and over 50 favorite recipes.
Richard Frisbie, FOOD Correspondent:
RICHARD FRISBIE is published twice a month to Gather Essentials: Food. It is a food junkie's take on growing, raising, preparing and - above all else - eating food. Together we’ll explore the trends, addictions, equipment and regional specialties that make up the sometimes mundane and sometimes sublime cooking and dining experience. You can keep up with my other postings and Gather activity by joining my Gather network -- I look forward to hearing from you.
You can read all of my articles http://rfrisbie.gather.com/ or find them with those of the other Food Correspondents, plus celebrity chef content and plenty of other Foodies at http://foodtalk.gather.com
BIO - Richard Frisbie writes culinary travel articles, is a columnist for his local newspapers, and is a regular contributor to the many Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountain and other regional New York publications. Online, he writes frequent articles for EDGE publications, GoNomad and Travel Lady, as well as Gather.
JOIN MY GROUPS:
Everything About New York State http://aboutnewyork.gather.com/
Travel/Food/Wine BOOK Reviews http://tfwbookreviews.gather.com/
Food Videos Forum http://foodvideos.gather.com/
Join to see some of the kitchens and techniques you read about here at Gather
BLOG - http://www.bloglines.com/blog/rfrisbie
Where some of my Gather work and other things, primarily about New York State, appears.
BOOKSTORE - Specializing in New York State books since 1959 http://www.hopefarm.com
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 19
As always, thanks for a lovely read and for sharing. Not sure where to find your video though. Could be my rusty gathering skills....
Thanks for the kind words - see the NEW link here or above. -- and THANKS!
I love the flowers and elegant table, too. And best of all, as always, your wonderful writing to bring it all to life for all of us.
Mwaaah!
Thanks Dorine - I am just beginning with Blantyre. It is SO understated that the pure, simple elegance of each serving, each event, each moment becomes, as a whole, an ethereal experience. BUT - I'm also packing for a 10 day trip to RIO as I wrap up my Mayoral campaign, so I really was frustrated about the time spent (2 days) getting this snippet posted!
Oh Richard,.....do you need a maid, a secretary, a girl Friday......????
Oh, my heart is beating a pittypat so fast that my fingers can't type fast enough to keep up with it!!!
;-)
Kathryn - you'd never know the mushrooms were in that broth, same as you wouldn,t know the stems were in his vegetable broth. It creates a depth of flavor, not a mushroom flavor.
Dorine, it is so nice to see you here with all your enthusiam and exuberance - thanks!
I can send several!!!
seriously, I really appreciate the sentiment, Sonia & Dorine, but I'm going to have to vote in abstensia, too. (damn that Rio trip!) We have a voting population of 750 (in a Village of 4900) and rarely get more than 160 votes cast. That's the number of employees, families and their friends, so my platform of consolidating departments (with possible job loss) does not make me popular. Thanks for the show of support.