ART BY COJANA SMITH
Staying in St. Louis is always complicated as there are so
many great hotels, my favorite however is the
Mayfair, I love old historic
places especially hotels. Their histories and culinary offerings set the
standards for which all others strive to achieve. I began my career at such hotels (Jasper Park
Lodge, Jasper, Alberta and The Marlborough Hotel in Winnipeg.) Historic hotels have great personalities
whereas most modern hotels are cookie cutter styling the old hotels spoke of
elegance, class and the highest quality. The Mayfair is one such hotel, the
choice of actors, actresses, Presidents what is exactly what the owner Charles Hess
wanted as his clientele, only the finest for his customer no matter their
standing, if they stayed at the Mayfair then the experience stayed with them
due to service that 
exceeded even the wildest expectation. These historic hotels became so in cuisine as
well, may create dishes that are held by
chefs as the standard today, some one hundred years later are still the
standard. The Mayfair's contribution is a dressing known simply as Mayfair dressing,
a versatile condiment that is excellent on salads, with fried foods, fish,
chicken and seafood.
Every major community has special areas settled by those
coming from other countries in search of a better life for their children and
their children. Many cities today are so multinational that a visitor can
experience the world just by visiting the neighborhoods. St. Louis, of course,
is no different the foreign influences are rooted deep within Oriental ,
German, Polish, Mexican, Irish all are part of the makeup of this great city. There is one community, however that has truly
made an international name for itself, that being the Italian community.
"The Hill" a delicious area of
dining and entertaining and a must visit when in St. Louis in fact you haven't
experienced the city without visiting the hill.
The Hill has some of the finest Italian restaurants not only
in St. Louis but in America. The neighborhood can be located just off the Interstate
44 along Shaw Ave. Bordered by Lilly
Ave. and MacKind Ave. contains immaculate
prewar homes, various shops, bakeries, tattorias and of course the restaurants.
The Italian food here is that kind that warms the heart and the stomach, for
the family or the romantic The Hill has something for everyone. Famous waiters Yogi
Berra and Joe Garagiola are from the hill, they lived on the same street across
from each other, sure they were famous baseball players but they were waiters
before the baseball careers. Joe's brother Mickey was actually the first to experience
what would become one of St. Louis' gifts to the world, that being the toasted ravioli.
Mickey was seated at the bar in Oldani's
(now Mama's On The Hill) when chef Fritz accidentally dropped the little pillows
of pasta into hot oil instead of hot water, Mickey ate them instead of tossing
them out and declared them a hit, soon thereafter every restaurant on the Hill
served toasted ravioli and now are found on menus throughout the world.
Depending on the region the ravioli are filled with what is local to the area,seafood
in the northeast,chicken in the southwest, beef and cheese on the prairies. The
ravioli are lightly breaded then deep fried, served with marinara sauce and
garnished with fresh Parmesan cheese.
Next St. Louis Barbecue.
TOASTED RAVIOLI WITH TOMATO CREAM SAUCE
1 quantity Tomato Pasta Dough (follows)
1 tbsp 15 ml olive
oil
¾ lb 345 g shredded beef
chuck
2 oz 60 g minced
prosciutto
3 3 eggs
½ tsp 3 ml each of basil and
oregano
½ cup 125 ml freshly grated Romano
cheese
1/2 cup 125 ml milk
1 cup 250 ml flour
2 cups 500 ml fine
bread crumbs seasoned
4 cups 1L vegetable
oil
For Sauce
2 tbsp 30 ml butter
2 tbsp 30 ml flour,
all purpose
1 cup 250 ml half & half
cream
2 cups 500 ml fresh
marinara sauce
Process the pasta as
directed. Roll out into thin sheets. Cover with a moist cloth until required.
Heat the oil in a skillet
and brown the beef. Drain oil and allow the beef to cool in a large mixing
bowl. Blend into the cooled beef the prosciutto, 1 egg, seasonings and cheese.
Place tablespoon amounts of
filling evenly over a sheet of dough, moisten the dough surrounding the filling
with a little water. Place a second sheet of dough over the first. Cut between
the filling with a scalloped edge pastry cutter. Freeze for 1 hour.
Mix the milk with the
remaining 2 eggs.
Dip the ravioli into the
flour, then the egg mixture and into the bread crumbs. Place back in the
freezer for another hour or until required.
Heat the vegetable oil to
350F, fry the ravioli in small batches, Serve with hot with the sauce.
For the sauce:
In a sauce pan, heat the
butter, add the flour and cook for 2 minutes over low heat. Add the cream and
simmer into a very thick sauce. Whip in the Marinara, simmer for 20 minutes..
SERVES 6
TOMATO PASTA DOUGH
2 2 eggs
¼ cup 60 ml tomato paste
1 tbsp 15 ml olive
oil
2 cups 500 ml semolina
flour
ice water, only if required
Blend the eggs, tomato paste
and oil together. Place in a mixing bowl. Slowly add the flour. Knead into a
smooth ball (add ice water if required), Knead the dough for 15 minutes and
allow to rest for an additional 15 minutes. Roll out the dough. Lightly dust
with flour, fold in three, and roll out again. Repeat 6 to 8 times.
Now pass the dough through
the pasta machine setting the rollers gradually down until you reach the
desired thickness. The result should be a smooth sheet of dough ready to
process as you require.
Pass through a pasta
machine, or cut by hand to desired size. If processed by hand, simply roll the
dough and cut into thin strips for noodles (fettucini) or into wider strips for
lasagna, cannelloni, ravioli, etc.
Process as any of our
recipes direct.
NOTE: Use only enough flour to prevent sticking
while rolling.
MAYFAIR DRESSING
1/2 chopped large onion,
1 stalk celery,
1 clove, peeled garlic,
2 -[2oz] cans flat anchovies,
4 whole fresh, cold egg yolks,
1 cup corn oil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sparkling wine or champagne,
2 tablespoons prepared mustard,
1 tsp cracked black pepper
In a food processor, add the onion, celery and garlic and
puree. Add the anchovies and egg yolks, then with the machine running, add the
oils very slowly to emulsify. Finally,
add the wine, mustard and pepper, blend for 1 minute or until very smooth.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt. Reserve and store refrigerated for up 7
days. Yields 3 cups.
CK’s Dr, Pepper & Jack BBQ Sauce
1 cup Dr. Pepper soda
1 pound fresh peaches
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion such as Vidalia
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh jalapeño with seeds
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Jack Daniels Sour Mash bourbon
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon light brown sugar
2 Tbsp Chef K Seasonings
Heat the soda in a small sauce pan and reduce to 1/3rd cup.
Coarsely chop the peaches.
Cook onion, jalapeño, and a pinch of kosher salt in oil in a
heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened,
8 to 10 minutes. Add reduce Dr.Pepper, the peaches and remaining ingredients
and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until peaches are very tender,
about 30 minutes.
Purée in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids).
Here is the bun, but read up on the Perfect Hamburger at http://chefk.blogspot.ca/2013/09/the-prefect-hamburger.html
Dough Enhancer
1 cup wheat gluten
1/2 cup diastatic malt powder
2 tablespoons lecithin granules
1 teaspoon ascorbic acid crystals
2 tablespoons powdered pectin
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
Mix together and store in an airtight container in the
refrigerator. For 100% whole grain breads, use 3
Tablespoons per loaf. Add to your recipe along with the
flour.
Burger Buns
Makes 8 /4-inch to 5-inch burger buns
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dough enhancer (above)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Black and white sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, the
milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile,
beat one egg.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flours and dough enhancer with
salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using
a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms.
Scrape dough onto clean, well-floured counter and knead, scooping dough up,
slapping it on the counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10
minutes. (You may also use a stand mixer for this, eliminating the need for a
bench scraper. You want the dough to remain slightly tacky, as the more flour
you add, the tougher they will be when baked.
3. Shape dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Cover
bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to
2 hours.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a dough
scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and
arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with a piece
of plastic wrap lightly coated with nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm
place for 1 to 2 hours.
5. Set a large shallow pan of water on the oven floor.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with 1
tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds ( I
used both sesame and poppy seeds), if using. Bake, turning sheet halfway
through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a
rack to cool completely.
REALLY GOOD CHILI
900 g (2 lbs) lean ground beef
45 ml (3 tbsp) safflower oil
2 jalapeños, seeded, diced
1 Spanish onion, diced
500 ml (2 cups) tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced
250 ml (1 cup) beef broth
500 ml (2 cups) V-8 juice
15 ml(1 tbsp)cumin
15 ml (1 tbsp) chili powder
5 ml (1 tsp) salt
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) cheddar cheese, grated
Tortilla chips
In a Dutch oven or a large kettle, fry the beef in the
oil. Add the pepper and onion. Sauté until tender.
Add the tomatoes, broth, juice and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes.
Pour chili into bowls, garnish with tortillas and cheese and
serve.
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