‘Wednesday, July 13, 199¢ - North Shore News - 39 French Alpine cuisine can be Edena Sheldon CUISINE SCENE LADIES AND gentlemen —~ start your engines. Have [ got a day trip for you! Just min- utes up one of the most breathtakingly beautiful dri- ves in the worid. The raison d’étre? A fabulous dining experience, but of course! Roland Pfaff’s Val d’Isére awaits you, and I am only kicking myself for not going up sooner. Val d’Isére is upstairs in St. Andrews House, right in Whistler Village. A beautiful room overlook- ing the village below with spacious windows all around. Next year they will have balconies and terrace din- ing added. J sat with Pfaff for several hours, for an up-close meeting. I have found Alsatian French chefs to be generous and hospitable beyond belief, and Pfaff is no exception. We chatted over a lovely just- made fresh rhubarb sorbet with sliced strawberries. “Our customers are completely different up heze; different from how they are down in the city — dressed in suits, ties and often deal-oriented. Here, they come totally relaxed, often in T-shirts and casual clothes and they simply don’t want to Ieave their table,” Pfaff said. And what do they come for? His food. We knew what we were in for when the first plate of our multi- course dinner arrived. We gasped at the beautiful presentation of a house- smoked salmon on a bed of fresh sea asparagus with a delicate horseradish cream sauce, Our waitress, Quebsc-bom Rachel, understood our appreciation: “Cuisine: it is the only art form that must be destroyed to be appreciat- ed!” And she was right. Next up was Pfaff’s signature smoked goose breast Mille Feuille with Jentils and port wine sauce, too beautiful to dismantle under layers of brittle golden phyilo fayers. Main events were rivals of beauty and taste. I had roast pheasant on braised sauerkraut studded with juniper berries, with grilled sliced Cervelas sausage and port sauce. For my husband, « tian of roasted lamb loin, the slices fanned ovt over a timbale of ratatouille. ‘Oversized stemmed martini- glasses came next, filled with fresh cantaloupe sorbet drizzled with caramel and port, with paper-thin slices of melon pressed against the glass and dusted with a mantle of icing sugar. Finally, dessert. Pfaff excels in the pastry department as much as in his cooking. Rare talent, and it shows in his stunning plates. A frozen Lemon Soufilé on a brittle Hazienut Meringue crust with shavings of bitter Valrhona choco- late. A frozen pistachio ice cream bombe encased in chocolate on a harlequin-pattemed cocoa and sugar plate. . Warm flambéed fresh raspberries re ES in a brittle cookie tuile cup. And yes, if you were counting, that wes fhree desserts! By now, Susie (Plaff"s wife) had joined us. If I sound enthusiastic, | am. Summer is a beautiful time to visit Whistler. Much different than the crowded-with-skiers winter season. Wildflowers, hikes, golf, tennis, summer festivals, great shopping, and four-star dining at Val d'/sére. Plaff’s restaurant is open seven days a week, for lunch and dinner. Sunday heralds a brunch, which opens up a whole new possibility for Sundays for me. I know I'm heading up there soon for his Grilled Flank Steak with Shallots, or his Homemade Sausages with Panfried Apples and Potatoes. When you're there, ask to meet chef Roland in person. He’s a charmer, to say the least. When we were leaving the other evening, a nice couple departed with us at the same moment. They met Roland at the door, and told him that it was the second time in three days that they had patronized his restau- rant. This in itself was compliment, but they were from Bellevue, Washington! She uttered, in appreci- ation: “We have lots of great restau- rants in the Seattle area, but none like this one, We will be back soon.” A chef-owner cannot ask for more than that. Strasbourg-born, Pfaff comes to Val a’Isére directly from Le Crocodile where he cooked with chef-owner Miche! Jacob for almost four years. [assure you that this restaurant will long be a Whistler signature din- ing experience. Alsatian blood seems to run directly to the saucepan. 1 am told that there are more collective Michelin stars in the region of Alsace than in ail of France. Schooled in Strasbourg, appren- ticed at Maison Kanimerzell, cook- ing stints in Germany, Switzerland, England, Israel, finally a brief visit with Susie to Vancouver. “J was on my way to San Francisco, with no plans to stay in Canads. | stayed here one week. It vained the whole time. But | did see the water, the mountains —- the magic. Sample Pfaft’s country-style gcase paté with belgian endive and walnut salad. Or his local prawns salad with sautéed potatoes, greens and ginger oil. Or his seared scallops with vermouth and thyme suce. Or his grilled calves liver with onion purée. You choose. But whatever you do, don’t skip dessert, ALSATIAN KOUGELHOPF The most recognizable and tradi- tional of all Alsatian baked goods (and my favorite!) has to be the familiar Kougelhopf — a fluted yeast-based confection dusted with icing sugar aad studded with whole almonds —~ and presented in every bakery window throughout Alsace. In Strasbourg, the shops around the Cathedral (Dom) sell all kinds of Kougelhopf moulds. Made from the familiar pottery in warm terra cotta tones, some are hand painted in fan- ciful designs, some made from ele- gant white porcelain, and some (like mine) of heavy French tin. In lieu of a traditional fluted mould, use a bundt-type pan in a 2- litre (2 quart) size. Makes one. Time to get out the metric kitchen scale for this one. This recipe is exactly as written by chef Pfaff — well worth foliowing precisely for great results. 500 g. unsifted all-purpose flour 20 g. fresh yeast (available at any bakery, or in the refrigerated section of some supermarkets) or 1 envelope dry granulated yeast 100 mL warm water 3 large eggs, room-temperature 125 g. granulated sugar 1 tsp. (5 mL) salt 100 mL milk 125 g. unsalted butter whoie almonds (with their skins) 50 g. raisins, soaked in 30 mL Raum, Kirsch or Brandy (until plumped, about 1 hour) Dissolve the fresh yeast in the warm water; set aside about five to 10 minutes until foamy. in large mixer-bowl, place dis- solved yeast mixture. Add the flour, eggs, sugar, salt and the milk. Mix thoroughly to combine. Beat in the softened butter. Knead the dough several minutes until it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Dough will be soft. Finally, knead in the softened raisins. Place the dough in a buttered crockery bowl. Cover, and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free piace for about one hour. or just until doubled in volume. Punch dough down, knead sever- NOT AGAIN! SONIA SEIDKY-ROSS will be at The HAIR COMPANY as of July Thanks for your continuing support! (formerly of Blondelles) 1981 Lonsdale Ave. 985-91 fi EDGEMONT VILLAGE Corner of Edgemont Bivd. + Queens ROLAND PFAFF, chef and owner of Whistier’s Val d’isdre restaurant, shared his personal recipe for Alsace’s signature baked item — Kougelhopf, from his native Strasbourg. al minutes again. Meanwhile, gener- ously butter the baking mould. Place the whole almonds in base of mould (in the separate indented fluted sections) in a pretty pattern. Place the kneaded dough into pre- pared mould. Cover with a dry cloth, and allow to rise again until just dou- bled (dough will just reach top of mould). Bake the Kougelhopf in a pre- heated 350°F (180°C) oven for about one hour, or until a rich golden brown. Remove from oven. Turn baked Kougelhopf onto a wire rack for cooling. When completely cooled, dust liberaily with icing sugar. Slice with a thin-bladed serrated knife in a “sawing” motion. T SANDRA E. McKELLAR LAWYER ® Divorce © Access © Property Division © Separation Agreements © Farnily Violence 921-3394 © Custody ° Support 682-6121 | et Ory