BY LENORA DANNELKE | PHOTOS BY OLAF STARORYPINSKI
NESTLED INTO THE ROLLING COUNTRYSIDE OF MACUNGIE—specifically, the micro-village of Seisholtzville—a handsomely restored fieldstone carriage house from 1825 serves as the crossroads of the culinary world. Since 1997, chef-owner Shawn Doyle has been weaving a profusion of global tastes and textures into the ever-evolving Contemporary American fare at Savory Grille. With a scratch menu that changes weekly and is often tweaked daily, guests never suffer from boredom. However, favored offerings such as duck and sea scallops claim recurring starring roles, but with revamped preparations designed to excite the palate.
Creative presentation is a hallmark of Doyle’s fine-dining cuisine. “Color is a big draw for me, and I use a white plate. From an artistic standpoint I want the food to stand out, so it ‘pops’ on the plate. Most people like really funky plates, but things might not contrast nicely on a black plate,” he explains, adding with a laugh, “That’s just my opinion, and I get corrected a lot!”
Beurre rouge (red butter) counts among the chef’s favorite sauces for imparting vibrant eye-appeal and delivering a rich tanginess to dishes. Doyle first encountered this alluring taste several decades ago while working for Executive Chef Steve Kershner—now the chef-owner of the Twisted Olive in Bethlehem—in the kitchen of Cascade Lodge, formerly a landmark dining destination in Kintnersville. It was served with salmon. Although adorning a fatty fish with butter sauce may seem like gilding the lily, the acidity in the red-wine-and-vinegar-enhanced sauce resulted in a remarkable balance of flavors.
INSPIRED BY A CLASSIC
At Kershner’s suggestion, Doyle added prolific cookbook author Anne Willan’s La Varenne Pratique: The Complete Illustrated Cooking Course to his growing book collection. Budding chef Doyle then went on to earn a degree in restaurant management from Northampton Community College. (This was prior to the launch of the school’s celebrated culinary arts programs.)
Although no longer in print, La Varenne Pratique is widely available for sale online and worth chasing down. The hefty 528-page tome, lavishly illustrated with more than a thousand color photographs, acquaints readers with the “techniques, ingredients, and tools of classic modern cuisine.” A four-part ebook edition, each purchased separately, is currently available for those who prefer to live the digital life. Another advantage? You can simply select the topic that best feeds your cooking passion, such as “Part 4: Baking, Preserving & Desserts.”
While Doyle draws inspiration from the dishes of Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean and beyond, he believes that a basic intro to French cuisine can up the game of any home chef. “I think that mother sauces are the basis of learning about French cuisine, and a lot of people don’t understand that—but from there they can learn the variations,” he says. Well-known derivatives of the five mother sauces—béchamel, velouté, espagnole, tomato, and hollandaise—include mornay, bernaise, bordelaise and countless others, and are incorporated into dishes ranging from homey mac and cheese to fancy boeuf bourguignon.
Emulsified sauces, which combine ingredients that normally don’t mix, often attain stability by the addition of an egg yolk (think mayonnaise) or the inclusion of a thickening agent. With beurre rouge or the more familiar beurre blanc—made with white wine instead of red—the magic of emulsification comes from the talent of the chef wielding the whisk. The stronger taste (and outstanding color) of beurre rouge partners beautifully with fish and other types of seafood, sweetbreads, and even steak. Traditionally, both versions of these butter sauces include only four simple ingredients: wine, vinegar, shallots, and butter. That said, other seasonings or fruits can bring complexity to the flavor profile. The downside—there’s always one, right?—is that the sauce remains stable and unseparated for only a few minutes. And it absolutely cannot be reheated. That means no prepping ahead, other than cubing the butter.
BEURRE ROUGE: A SPECIAL SAUCE
On the upside, Doyle firmly believes that beurre rouge is worth the effort. “It’s a very temporary and temperamental combination,” he notes. “But instead of trying to dip something into a dish of melted butter, you get that velvety silkiness right on the plate. Adding ingredients to the butter expands the taste into new dimensions. You’re melding those flavors into satiny goodness. I love it.” Odds are, most of us will concur.
Savory Grille
2934 Seisholtzville Rd., Macungie
610.845.2010
savorygrille.com
Beurre Rogue
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp raspberry wine vinegar
- 6 tbsp dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir
- 2 small shallots finely diced
- 6 to 8 whole raspberries
- 5 whole black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small sprig of thyme
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp heavy cream (optional, but recommended*)
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
Instructions
- Place vinegar, wine, shallots, raspberries, peppercorns, bay leaf, thyme, and lemon juice in a small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat and simmer until the contents is reduced by 90 percent. If using, whisk in the cream and continue cooking until the volume is further reduced by half. Take the cubed butter from the fridge and get ready for action.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately start whisking in the butter, one piece at a time. Whisking continuously is imperative in achieving emulsion.
- Strain the sauce through a conical chinois** and into a bowl. Embellish the serving plates with the beurre rouge as desired and serve immediately.
- *A modest amount of dairy makes the sauce more stable without having a major impact on the taste.
- **Investing in this type of fine-mesh metal sieve is a worthwhile acquisition for serious home cooks. Choosing one a with a stand makes it easier to use, and many include a suitably sized pestle for squeezing out liquid while leaving unwanted solids behind. Otherwise, using the back of a ladle is a perfectly fine hack.
Notes
THE BIG PICTURE:
Pan-seared halibut with fingerling potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, and fresh raspberries, drizzled with beurre rouge and adorned with pea tendrils