By Stasha Surdyke & Christopher Trela
What could be better than having all of your favorite restaurants and their signature dishes in one spot?
Having those restaurants share those hallowed recipes with you so you can recreate the dishes at home.
But that’ll never happen, right?
Guess what – it just did. There’s a new cookbook called “Orange County Fare: A Culinary Journey through the California Riviera,” featuring signature recipes from dozens of top OC restaurants (including several in Newport Beach).
Created as a fundraiser for the Junior League of Orange County, in a revival of a Junior League tradition that had gone by the wayside for 20 years, “Orange County Fare” has already won a 2010 Benjamin Franklin Silver Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association.
Some of the featured recipes include A Restaurant’s Spicy Tuna Eggplant Tempura, Amelia’s Lady Sole with Claire Amandine Sauce, Five Crowns’ Black Pepper-Crusted Salmon with Pea Shoots and Cream Sauce, Palm Terrace’s Macaroni and Cheese Sauce with Crushed Truffle and Taleggio Sauce, Ruby’s Aegean Burger, and Zov Bistro’s Beef Tenderloin with Shallot Cream Sauce, to name just a few.
“Orange County Fare” is available at Roger’s Gardens, the Sherman Library and Gardens and the Accents on Newport Beach shop in the Islands Hotel, or by visiting www.jlocc.org
Here’s a recipe to whet your whistle for what to expect:
Palm Terrace’s Macaroni and Cheese Sauce with Crushed Truffle and Taleggio Sauce
Serves 4
3 button mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ rib celery, chopped
¼ cup chopped leek (white portion only)
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups Chablis of other white wine
3 cups heavy cream
3 or 4 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
18 white peppercorns
16 ounces Taleggio cheese, cut into pieces
¼ cup (1 ounce) grated Reggiano cheese
2 tblespoons crushed truffles
2 teaspoons white truffle oil
1 teaspoon black truffle oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 cups elbow macaroni, cooked and chilled
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Seat the mushrooms, shallots, garlic, celery and leek in the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until tender, but not brown. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns. Simmer for 20 minutes to reduce slightly.
Stir in the Taleggio and Reggiano cheeses and remove from the heat. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Process the sauce in a blender until smooth. Strain into a large saucepan.
Heat the sauce over low heat. Add the truffles, white and black truffle oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the pasta and mix well. Simmer until heated through. Sprinkle with the chives and serve hot.
