Fresh Cocktails at Fallingwater
Photography by Andrew Burkle // Food Styling by Clare Vredevoogd
Chef Tom Shuttlesworth knows a lot about what the Kaufmanns ate and drank. As the family that commissioned Fallingwater from revered American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, their preferences and tastes very much formed life at this amazing house. Preserved in anecdotes from Elsie Henderson, the Kaufmanns’ longtime cook, as well as in the archives of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, it’s clear that the family liked simple foods prepared with the best ingredients. Chef Tom follows along these lines, even as he adds recipes from his own family history, and layers in some current day tastes.
As part of his Forest to Table meal with TABLE Magazine, he shares an archival Hugo cocktail with TABLE readers, as well as some small plates just right for a sunny autumn afternoon. Recipes for the sumptuous dinner Chef designed to follow this light starting point are here.
Salt-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Pickled Ramps, Footprints Farm Smoked Ham, Local Ricotta
For final preparation and plating:
This is a very easy appetizer: you can make as many or as few as you like. Before you begin, establish your mis en place: cooked and prepared potato halves, sliced pickled ramps, thinly sliced ham, and drained, seasoned ricotta.
Wash and dry as many potatoes as desired for your appetizers; you should be able to get two apps per potato. In a heatproof dish, pour in a level 1/2-inch layer of kosher salt. Place your potatoes on this layer of salt, and then completely cover them with at least another 1/2-inch of salt. Place dish in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until cooked through as tested with a small paring knife or toothpick. Allow the potatoes to completely cool (they will cool quicker when removed from the salt). Once cool, the potatoes should first have small slices taken from opposing sides to create a level and stable ‘seating,’ and then the potatoes can be split in half. The halves should be lightly hollowed with a small melon baller.
A fresh, well-made ricotta should be rich, thick and not watery. If your ricotta appears to be thinner or have a lot of moisture, put a cup into a larger, doubled piece of cheesecloth, tie the cheesecloth off and allow to strain in colander until excess moisture is gone. This is best done the day before. Once your ricotta is in order, lightly season with salt, pepper, and the micro-planed zest of a half lemon.
The pickled ramp bulbs can be sliced and diced as desired. As much as I love it - and all cured hams! - refrain from using prosciutto or other air-dried hams and search out a good smoked ham. If you can’t find an American smoked ham, any number of Iberian or Black Forest hams (amongst many others) would fit the bill. The ham should be sliced as paper-thin as one can make it, which makes this often-two-bite appetizer easier to bite.
For assembly, line your potato halves on your work station, spoon in the ricotta filling, and just bulging over the halves, fold your ham into strips across the horizontal plane of the potato and top with sliced ramps.
Pickled Ramps
8 oz ramps
2 dried red chilies (Korean gochugaru is best)
2 bay leaves
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
Instructions
Trim greens from ramps; reserve for another use. Pack bulbs into a heatproof 1-pint jar along with dried red chilies, bay leaves, fennel seeds, and black peppercorns.
Bring rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Pour over ramps to cover. Seal jar. Let cool, then chill.
Do Ahead: Ramps will keep 2 weeks in your refrigerator, or use the boiling water canning method for longer life - I’ve kept over a year when properly canned.
Seared Foie Gras, Wild Strawberry Preserves, Black Pepper Gastrique, Sautéed ‘French Cakes’
For final preparation and plating:
Before you begin, establish your mise en place: Foie gras, individual pieces of the French cakes, preserves, gastrique, whole butter, and salt. Note: for foie gras, I used vacuum-packed, pre-cut slices that I thawed and split into hearty 1-ounce portions.
Preheat in a non-stick pan over medium heat. When the pan is to temp, melt in a tablespoon or so of butter, allowing the butter to melt, then add your French Cakes, keeping an eye on slowly caramelizing both sides to a lovely golden hue.
Preheat a sauté pan over medium-high heat, and make sure your exhaust fan is running! Salt both sides of your foie gras, then add to your dry, heated pan and sauté for about 30 seconds per side. Pull foie gras to a clean fold of towel and lightly dust with a good sea salt. High heat will create lots of smoke, but you are looking for a nice caramelized crust while essentially ‘warming’ the foie gras through. Cooking the foie gras beyond that point begins to render the foie gras, losing the texture, volume, and silken texture we’re looking for.
For assembly: Start with the French cake as the base to which you add an appropriate amount of wild strawberry preserves; I like about a half to scant tablespoon. Place the hot foie gras on top of the jam, and spoon about a ½-teaspoon of black pepper gastrique on top.
Mom’s ‘French’ Cakes
Ingredients
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 ¼ cups of sugar
1 lb butter real butter no substitutes
5 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
7 cups flour
Instructions
Cream the brown sugar, sugar and butter for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, making sure the egg is well mixed before you add the next one.
Add vanilla.
Add the flour.
Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Heat waffle iron. Once waffle iron is hot, place 1 scoop of dough in the center of each square (mine makes 4 waffles, so it makes 4 cookies). You can use a cookie dough scooper for small cookies or an ice-cream scooper for a larger cookie; close waffle iron.
Let it cook for 1 1/2 minutes, for a small cookie or 2 minutes for large cookie.
Remove from waffle iron and cool.
Wild Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
·4 cups, cleaned, prepared wild strawberries
·7 cups sugar
½ tbsp butter
1 pouch CERTO fruit pectin
Instructions
Bring boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot, soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.
Stem and crush strawberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Measure exactly 4 cups crushed strawberries into 6- or 8-quart saucepot.
Add sugar; stir. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)
Black Pepper Gastrique
Ingredients
1 tbsp McCormick Culinary® Black Pepper, ground
1 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Make a dry caramel with sugar.
Once caramel is light brown add apple cider vinegar and McCormick Culinary® Black Pepper, ground.
Reduce until viscous, and reserve.
The ‘Hugo’ Aperitif
This is a delightful, refreshing, and refreshingly low-alcohol aperitif that one can quaff all afternoon, before, during, and after a good repast, without alcohol overload. Simple and classic in flavor, one would think it a venerable standby, but it’s actually a recent invention that has taken Europe by storm. A simple mix of Prosecco - or your own favorite sparkling white - seltzer, elderflower syrup and a sprig of mint and lime to garnish. We usually mix glasses by eye at my house - you really can’t make a bad one.
Ingredients
2 parts Prosecco
1 part seltzer
1 to 2 tsp elderflower syrup
Sprig of mint
Lime, sliced thinly (optional)
I make my own elderflower syrup but it can be purchased at upscale or international food purveyors.
To visit Fallingwater: fallingwater.org
STORY AND RECIPES BY Chef Tom Shuttlesworth // PHOTOGRAPHY BY Andrew Burkle // FOOD STYLING BY Clare Vredevoogd // PRODUCTION BY BURKLEHAGEN // SHOT ON LOCATION AT FALLINGWATER thanks to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
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