Perfect Matches : Five Southern California Chefs Recommend Champagne-Friendly Appetizers

THE HOLIDAYS ARE AT HAND, and many of the city’s leading hosts are bringing on the champagne. But matching foods with specific champagne types can be a bit tricky. So we asked five much-admired Southern California chefs to tell us what first-course appetizer they would serve with some of the many different champagne types evaluated in the Los Angeles Times’ 15th Annual Wine Tasting (see Page 45). The results are both interesting and delicious.

As the accompaniment for a non-vintage brut sparkler, Ken Frank, of La Toque on Sunset Boulevard, prepared a shredded-potato pancake topped with creme fraiche and caviar. To go with a “prestige” Champagne, Roland Gibert, of Califia in the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Manhattan Beach, opted for an elegant gratineed mushroom-and-oyster appetizer.

Michel Blanchet, of L’Ermitage on La Cienega, selected a clam-and-asparagus-tips savory, served in the clam shell, as the ideal companion for a vintage brut, and Hugh Carpenter, of Chopstix on Melrose, paired a wonderful salmon-filled dim sum dumpling with a blanc de blanc.

Our fifth chef was Michael Roberts, chef and partner at Trumps on Melrose, who served a rich onion, artichoke and Gruyere deep-fried croquette with a blanc de noir.

Produced by Robin Tucker; food styling: Karen Gillingham

Glassware Sources

All paper from Pavilion Papers, Pasadena.

Page 46: Sasaki “Lotus” flute and California Bronze plate from Lynne Deutch Limited, Beverly Hills. Puiforcat “Annecy” fork from Gump’s.

Page 47: Hand-painted charger by Naiva. Christian Dior “Gaudron Gold” plate and champagne saucer, Correia glass ornaments, from Geary’s. George Jensen “Bernadotte” fork from Gump’s.

Page 48: Baccarat “Merkur” and “Neptune” flutes from Gump’s. Glass dish from Tesoro.

Page 49: Top, blond wood charger from The Pavilion at Tanner Market. Square plate from Tesoro. Baccarat “Montaigne Optic” champagne saucer from Geary’s. Bottom, Swid Powell “White Stripe” buffet plate and Sasaki “Eclipse” glass from Geary’s. Candles from The Pavilion at Tanner Market.

POMMES ROSTI AU CAVIAR (Rosti Potatoes With Caviar) 4 tablespoons creme fraiche, Devon Cream or sour cream Juice of 1/4 fresh lemon 1 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh chives 2 or 3 grinds fresh ground white pepper 2 medium russet potatoes 1/2 cup peanut oil, about 1/4 pound caviar (or more)

Combine creme fraiche , lemon juice, chives and pepper in small bowl. Set aside 2 hours.

Using coarsest side of cheese grater, grate unpeeled potatoes into bowl of cold water. When ready to cook, drain potatoes on paper towels; pat as dry as possible. Loosely form shredded potatoes into 8 patties about 1/2 inch thick. Do not press.

Heat 1/8 inch peanut oil in saute pan; the oil is hot enough when a test shred of potato sizzles. Using a spatula, carefully place potato patties in hot oil. Fry over medium heat 2 to 5 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove patties from skillet and blot excess oil on paper towel. Cook remaining patties in same manner, adding oil as needed.

Arrange patties on plates. Top with creme fraiche and caviar. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

HUITRES AU CHAMPAGNE (Oysters With Champagne) 6 tablespoons butter 4 shallots, finely chopped 1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped 1 cup whipping cream Salt, pepper 24 oysters 3 egg yolks 3/4 cup Champagne

Melt 3 tablespoons butter. Combine melted butter, half the shallots, mushrooms and 1/2 cup whipping cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until liquid is evaporated. Set aside over hot water to keep hot.

Open oysters over a bowl, saving the liquid from the shells. Set the empty shells in the warm oven to dry.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a pan, add remaining shallots and cook until shallots become just transparent. Add reserved oyster liquid, Champagne and oysters. Poach 2 minutes. Remove oysters with slotted spoon, and set aside to keep warm.

Reduce cooking liquid to two-thirds by gently boiling uncovered. While stock is reducing, whip remaining cream lightly, just to incorporate some air. Gently fold egg yolks one by one into cream.

Place empty oyster shells on broiler pan and fill almost to the top with warm mushroom puree. Set oysters on top of puree. Fold egg yolk cream into the reduced oyster, shallot and Champagne stock. Top each oyster with the egg yolk cream mixture. Broil until lightly browned. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

CLAMS FILLED WITH ASPARAGUS TIPS 12 medium asparagus spears 1/4 pound butter, softened 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped Salt, pepper 24 clams

Blanch asparagus 5 minutes in boiling water. Cut asparagus spears 2 1/2 inches from tip (reserve bottoms of spears for other use). Slice tip ends lengthwise in halves.

In small bowl, combine butter, garlic and parsley, mixing to a paste-like consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Open each clam and remove the top shell. Place bottom shells with clams in jelly-roll or other shallow baking pan with sides. Top each clam with half an asparagus spear. Cover asparagus and clam with garlic and parsley paste. Bake at 350 degrees 10 minutes. Serves 6.

CRISP PAN-FRIED SALMON DUMPLINGS 1 pound fresh salmon, skinned and boned 4 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked, de-stemmed and chopped 1 bunch chives, minced 1/2 cup minced carrot 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 2 teaspoons dry Sherry 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon sugar 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 30 round won ton skins Cornstarch 30 small peas 2 tablespoons peanut oil 1/2 cup water Hot chili oil Rice vinegar

Mince about three-quarters of salmon; cube the rest. Combine salmon, mushrooms, chives, carrot, ginger, oyster sauce, Sherry, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper.

Place 1 tablespoon filling in center of each won ton skin. Bring edges of skin up around filling, leaving filling exposed at top. Place dumpling in the soft hollow between your left thumb and index finger. Squeeze the “waist” gently with your left index finger while at the same time pressing the top and bottom of the dumpling with right index finger and thumb. Dumplings should look like round cylinders with a flat top and bottom. Place dumplings on layer of wax paper lightly dusted with cornstarch. Place a pea in the center of each dumpling. Refrigerate uncovered.

Spoon peanut oil into 12-inch non-stick frying pan over high heat. Stand dumplings in bottom of skillet and cook until bottoms brown. Add water. Immediately cover. Cook dumplings about 2 minutes or until firm. Remove cover and continue cooking dumplings until water boils away and dumpling bottoms become very dark.

Transfer to platter and serve with small containers of chili oil and rice vinegar. (Each person places a little of each on a plate and then moistens the bottoms of the dumplings with these seasonings before eating.) Serves 6 to 10.

ONION, ARTICHOKE AND GRUYERE CROQUETTES 1 lemon 4 large artichokes 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 2 medium onions, finely diced 1/4 pound Gruyere or Emmentaler cheese, grated 3 tablespoons flour 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs, about 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 to 3 cups oil

Combine about 1 quart water and the juice of lemon in 2-quart pot. Keep lemon shells to rub cut surfaces of artichokes. Cut stems from artichokes. Trim tops, leaving a base about 1 1/2 inch wide and exposing the center choke. Trim the sides and bottom to remove the dark green exterior. Place bottoms in the water as they are done.

Bring water to a boil, cover and cook over high heat 20 minutes, or until bottoms are tender. Drain artichokes and when cool enough to handle, scoop out centers of chokes and discard. (At this point artichokes can be replaced in cooking liquid and kept, covered, in refrigerator up to two days.)

Melt butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add onions, cover and cook 3 minutes, until softened. Remove from heat and place onion mixture in a mixing bowl.

Place cooked artichokes in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add to onion mixture along with cheese, flour, 6 tablespoons bread crumbs, baking powder, 1 egg and salt. Mix well. (Can be prepared to this point up to one day in advance and kept, covered, in the refrigerator. Do not add the baking powder more than 1 hour before frying croquettes.)

In shallow bowl, lightly beat the remaining egg. Place remaining bread crumbs in another bowl.

Drop heaping tablespoonful of batter into egg, then into bread crumbs to coat. Pour oil to 2-inch depth in 9-inch skillet. Heat to 375 degrees. The oil is hot enough for frying when a small amount of croquette batter dropped into the oil immediately bubbles. Fry croquettes in batches until golden, turning to brown evenly, 3 to 4 minutes. Spoon cooked croquettes onto paper towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in 200-degree oven while finishing the rest. Serves 5 to 6.