Friday, February 19, 2010

Chanterelle's Salmon With Beet & Lime Butters

Once upon a time there was a wonderful restaurant in NYC called Chanterelle. First in Soho and then in Tribeca, it served inspired food for 30 years.

Photo by Shana Ravindra
I was strangely bereft to hear they had given up the restaurant. It had been in my constellation of best NYC establishments forever having eaten in both the Soho and Tribeca iterations during their 30-year history. Even their employee meals (usually the subject of wailing and rending of garments) were legendary, and chef Waltuck's first book, Staff Meals from Chanterellewas written not about the restaurant's food but about the staff meals!
Photo by Shana Ravindra
They had closed for renovations but then suddenly closed for good. I will miss their creativity and quiet elegance and will share with you my favorite recipe from there… although there are so many in the chef David Waltuck’s fabulous cookbook, Chanterelle. This one is not in the book but pulled from a magazine a zillion years ago.
I will miss you, Chanterelle, and your fabulous menus by amazing and famous Soho/Tribeca artists (which are now being sold online) and wonderful atmosphere of coddling and comfort
This is my favorite salmon sauce and I have been making it since I first had it 20-odd years ago in their restaurant. It is delicious and gorgeous. I tried to re-create the design that was popular in the 80’s…it is a memory that goes with the dish and the colors are out of this world. Just a few circles of lime butter (this can’t be too hot or it will not work) in the beet and a toothpick to pull through the lines and you are good to go.
With thanks to Chanterelle I give you:
Salmon with Beet and Lime Butters.
Salmon for 2
12 oz Salmon Filet
2 t. mustard
1 T maple syrup (I use Martha Stewart’s Basil Jelly*** - which is the best)
1T soy sauce
4 T butter
S & P to taste
Slather the fish with the mustard, maple syrup, soy and salt and pepper and let sit and hour or so. Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat and cook the salmon, skin side up. Flip when browned and cover till done in about 3 minutes for medium rare. It is even better grilled outside over charcoal…if you have access, do it that way (oil the grill first) when it’s not below zero outside! PS This is my recipe and not Chef Waltucks! The butters are his.
Beet Butter
2-3 beets (6 oz)
2 T shallots
3 T red wine vinegar
½ c white wine
2 T cream
¼ to ½ c butter in chunks
Bake the beets, wrapped in foil for 1 hour at 375º. Peel the beets. Puree in blender with water as needed
Reduce the shallots, vinegar and white wine to a syrup. Add syrup and cream to puree.
Warm and add butter slowly to keep sauce from separating
Lime butter
Juice of 3 limes
½ c white wine
3 T cream
¼ to ½ c butter, in chunks
Reduce lime juice and wine to a syrup and add cream. Keep warm and add butter over low heat to keep the sauce together.
Serve butters together with the Salmon. You can make the combined butters sweet or tart depending on how much of each you use.
***I will give you the recipe if you ask… will post it one of these days!!

Original 1990 version of dish for Victoria Magazine
I just found this photo over the weekend, hasn't food styling/photography changed a lot!
I also wanted to tell everyone that Karen Waltuck saw everyone's lovely words and was touched. I am so glad. The restaurant was so well thought of and loved!


48 comments:

Stella said...

So sad when a good restaurant closes. I work in the restaurant industry, and I've noticed it is the people that make the restaurant what it is. And people move on or eventually get tired. Then, the restaurant either closes or becomes something new and unfamiliar (not necessarily bad, but not what it was). C'est La Vie...
May Chanterelle live in the memories of those who loved her!

Kathy said...

Oh dear, Chanterelle sounded like a fun place, it is sad when the great restaurants close. Your recipe and photos look amazing though, I like the sound of the beet butter very much.

Anonymous said...

I have to make a note of Chanterelle's closing in my database. It used to be a 5 star a long time ago before we started on our mission so we never got to eat there :( The salmon looks marvelous and I love the butters!

Sarah said...

This looks beautiful! I have never seen beet butter but what a good idea. I like the sweetness of beets. Nice story about the restaurant.

Deana Sidney said...

Stella> didn't know you were in the biz... you must love them when you heard how well they did with staff meals... I know I did
Kathy> The beet/lime butters are amazing... do try!
5 Star FOodie> So sad about them... they are doing $6 grand dinners for 8 if you want the Chanterelle experience... her flowers were fabulous.
All our fingers> You will be so surprised at the butter... it has changed many beet haters into lovers!

George Gaston said...

This sounds unbelievable! I like when butter is infused with strong flavors, because then they can spread that flavor with a touch of sweetness.

Terrific recipe... I am sure Chanterelles will be missed.

Linda said...

Beautiful post....
Thank you so much!
L~xo

Fresh Local and Best said...

Your nostalgia for Chanterelle speaks to the quality of the restaurant and these recipes. The dish is beautiful!

Zurin said...

that is a truly amazing and beautiful coloured dish...the colours are exotic and a lovely post too !!

Barbara said...

My daughter lives a block or so away from Chanterelle. We haven't been there for a couple years, but we ate there perhaps once a year or so before that. Their tasting menu was to die for. The wines they chose for each course were a delight. And their food was always perfection. But it was HIDEOUSLY expensive.

This is a lovely posting, Deana, in praise of a superb restaurant.
The salmon dish looks divine.

Deana Sidney said...

George Gaston>It really was brilliant of them to do the 2 butters separately so you can mix the sweet and tart. Waltuck was a genius.
Linda> Thanks... it is really an homage to a great place.
FreshLocal&Best>Thanks, it really is like a legend has passed, I wish I could show you the way they did the dish..it was amazing!
Zurin> It's funny the duck post had similar colors...I must be on a red-orange streak! Next week will be really green!!!!
Barbara> Their tasting menu was to die for... a friend took me there for the best lunch ever just after the sommelier got the Beard Award. I thought I'd died and gong to heaven... but yes the bill was tres cher! Perhaps that's what did it... keeping up those kind of standards is really expensive and the economy is sluggish. Cool your daughter is a NYC girl!

Sacha said...

Butter beet is a true wonder (I do not know) I really want to test
To prepare salmon I do with certain pieces of white meat type chicken or pork
Thank you I liked your ticket
Good weekend
A + + Sacha
Le beurre de betterave est une vraie merveille ( que je ne connaissais pas ) j'ai très envie de la tester
Pour la préparation du saumon je le fais avec certains morceaux de viande blanche type volaille ou porc
Merci j'ai beaucoup aimé ton billet
Bon week-end
A++Sacha

Faith said...

It is always such a shame when landmark places like this close. At least they've left a phenomenal legacy! This dish is gorgeous...I'm asking myself why have I not tried beet butter before?! :)

Deana Sidney said...

Sasha> how good of you to visit.. in english! Beet butter could be good with many things... especially smoked things.. chicken or trout??
Faith> It made me sad... I wish I could have gone more often but it was pricey! It will always be in my memory.

a quiet life said...

how sad they closed... i hate to see good things leave, and these days its all to common.

your pics are mouthwateringly gorgeous... oh my, i know what i want for dinner tonight, if i can drag my lazy self out of the house to shop today that is ;-)

ps i hate blog police, its just nice you share and teach us so much, and so prettily too!

Tasty Trix said...

Isn't it sad when classic favorites just - poof!- go away? I hate that. But this is a wonderful tribute. Plus, you have just created an insatiable craving in me for those butters, oh boy-oh-boy.

Deana Sidney said...

Once in a Blue Moon> The butters are so good and so simple!! you will add it to your repertoire once you try them.

As for the blog police... it is a valid point. Many of us abuse Wikipedia and put things in our blogs without reference to the wonderful service they provide. Recipes get put into our personal data bases without attribution and get re-used... links get lost...but someone else did the leg work and should be given credit.

I come from the film business, and getting it right is the paramount thing. That is what I try to do... that and encouraging everyone who blogs... like I do with new assistants. So much work should be given credit and applauded. It is good to be reminded of this as so many who come to my blog do so generously. It is a wonderful reward to have people appreciate your work.... especially after 5 tries with 500 year old recipes!!! You are one of the most supportive people on the planet... and for that I, and so many others, are forever grateful.

Deana Sidney said...

Trix> Even a vegetarian will love these.. do you eat fish??? If not... just serve beets with them... you won't be disappointed. What I loved most about David Waltuck at Chanterelle was that you would have 2 miracles in a meal and some small misfires... it showed courage and invention. Other places might have 100% good. but there you would always get sparks of genius....like these butters!!!

Mary Bergfeld said...

This was a lovely post. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe with us. It's a shame that Chanterelle has closed its doors. It was a lovely restaurant.

Diane Schmidt said...

It's always a shame when a great place closes.

Ken Albala said...

What a lovely and fitting tribute. Splendid blog, by the way. Ken

Deana Sidney said...

Mary> It is a great shame.. perhaps they will try again.
Diane> Yes, a terrible loss of a great place.
Ken> Thanks Ken, if you loved the place you will be saddened to hear of its closing. So pleased you stopped by.

La Table De Nana said...

I just printed up your recipe..it just looks so beautiful~

Thanks for the info re Chanterelle also:)

Deana Sidney said...

La table de nana> you made my day... FG & TS didn't go for my arty photos. You will love the recipe... I really have made it about 100 times... a blender makes it so simple, and peel the beets... I forgot to
add that!!!

Sook said...

The salmon dish looks delicious! I'm always looking for a new way to cook salmon so this is great!

Sarah said...

I just saw the pic from Victoria magazine! Yours are way better! Yes, we have come a long way.

Deana Sidney said...

All our fingers in the Pie>
Sarah, I will say that the page is 20 odd years old and it was probably a little brighter than it is now. All of us who remember Victoria Magazine loved their beautiful style that was soft and feminine. They would never have had those food closeups we see these days!

La Table De Nana said...

Great idea to add the original..I love trips down Memory Lane..Or shall we say,down The Lost Past?:)

Deana Sidney said...

La table de Nana> I thought it was funny how I remembered the butter
pattern differently... close... but different... isn't memory a funny thing. Slowly the pattern changed... till the original was forgotten. How does anyone keep their story straight in a trial about something that happened years ago???

Trissa said...

It's so sad when really great establishments come to an end! But anyway, at least there are great cookbooks and recipes they can be remembered by!

Nadji said...

Une recette qui me plait beaucoup et que je voudrai tester.
A bientôt.

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

Oh, a lovely tribute! It's such a pity. :( The salmon dish looks AMAZING.

Karen @ Mignardise said...

You did a great job with the food styling. And what a beautiful sear on the salmon.
I like the maple/mustard/soy combo too.

The Cooking Photographer said...

Oh no! I am so sorry. Losing an old restaurant is like losing an old friend.

I'm going to be making your beet butter as soon. I love this dish!

Laura

Deana Sidney said...

Trissa> You are so right about the cookbooks... that way, restaurants do live on (look at the Delmonico's book from the 1890's... you can make food like they did in the 21st century!) I provided a link to buy it if you would like!!!
Saveurs et gourmandises> Merci pour votre visite!
Ju> Salmon is fab... the restaurant was too!
Kate@Mignardise> Thanks... most kind on the styling... it was a little
unusual but I wanted drama. I've been making the marinade for the fish forever... it is best on the grill where the sugars caramelize at little...

Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said...

What a shame about this restaurant! And I agree that staff meals are so fascinating! There's a cookbook out now from a Sydney restaurant and the owner puts in some of the recipes for the staff meals and they look fascinating! :)

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Bonjour LPR!
Thank you for visiting my post and dreaming with me! Your photos are just lovely and mouthwatering-provoking, but I know what you mean! I have a limited computer program, but we do have iphoto which allows me to add a cloudy affect to the edges of my photos, but the castle to which you refer was already shrouded in clouds! Doesn't it just take your breath away?

Thanks again, I so appreciate your visit! Oh, I make a killer diller salmon stew with fire-roasted tomatoes, saffron, white beans, olive oil, garlic, onion and lots of BASIL! Salmon rules.

Bonne journée! Anita

Cathy said...

It's always a sad thing when a revered establishment closes its doors. Especially when we have lovely memories wrapped around it. The butters are beautiful and look like the perfect accompaniment to your lovely salmon.

Gemma said...

I like your dish decoration, especially the butter sauce with red beet. It's very nice!

Vanessa Soto said...

Oh De, I LOVED Chanterelle... You know they did a popup gallery, right?
xo to you and Scott, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Vanessa

The Dutchess said...

Hello There

This is Gustave...you know..from the Hilltop..so nice you visited us..Like you I LOVE food. A few weeks ago I was awarded,much to my surprise and very unexpected, with the great Gourmet Award. So ,in Spring I will open my restaurant in the garden of the Hilltop...under the Lilac bush...I will send you an invite for the big opening..Hope to see you there..and I will visit your blog for some inspiration.
With kind regards..

Gustave..Chef from 'Under the Lilac bush'

Deana Sidney said...

Lorraine> Long ago when I was in school, I worked in restaurants in NYC... good ones, and the staff meals were usually awful.. it speaks a lot to the owners of a place that the staff meals are so good they rate a restaurant. I'd love to know about the Sydney restaurant cookbook!!
Castles and Cottages> That salmon stew sound amazing... post the recipe, PLEASE???
Cathy>So many memories... and try the butters!!!
Gemma> the design was an homage to Chanterelle... their idea... I just tried to make it to show off the sauces!
Vanessa> How sweet you stopped by... Yeah, I loved Chanterelle. Too bad I couldn't go more often to help keep them open!
Dutchess> So great about the award... must check in to see how the restaurant turns out... too bad you are so far away!!!

Rattlebridge Farm said...

You'd asked about Mr. Linky. He scares me more than rats and bees! Did you click on the permalink? I know you prolly know this but in case not, I will tell you how I link to memes. After you publish your FF post, click on the title. Then go up to the window at the top of your computer screen with the http:// info. This is your permalink. Copy this. Then enter it in Mr. Linky for the url (2nd space). Put your name & recipe into the first space. Then hit enter. If you did all this and it didn't work, then I'm flummoxed. But if you are linking tomorrow, or if you want to link this lovely foodie article, leave a message and I will try to link it to Mr. L. Just let me know.
XX00

Unknown said...

What a shame. So many great things are closing down because of the bad economy. It looked and sounded like a beautiful place. The dish looks great. I love the ingredients.
*kisses* HH

Deana Sidney said...

Michael Lee West>Thanks for the lesson... technology is a pain!!! Glad you liked the post!
Heavenly Housewife>It was great and the dish is just a taste of what they did... buy their cookbook!!!!

Becky said...

Oh yum. I've been looking for a good recipe with beets ... this looks perfect!

Wendy said...

This looks delicious! We love Salmon...yum this just looks delicious. What first caught both of our attention was the picture of the front of the restaurant...that is exactly what we both have pictured in our minds for the front of our dream bakery.
Wendy & Tony

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