Page 67 - The Hunt - Summer 2021

out the balsamic for another sweet or sour component,” he says. “Sticking with seasonal, I’ll often make a fresh blueberry vinaigrette by essentially soaking ripe berries in a base of warm vinegar and shallot or onion. They steep
and plump.”
Then Lhulier takes a whisk or spoon and roughly breaks them apart so they release their juice, adding depth to the vinaigrette. “All slight changes to the original,” he says. “For a more in-depth understanding of this method, look at The Elements of Taste by chef Gray Kunz, one of my mentors.”
Chef Zane Dippold gives comfort food his
own “little twist” at Cantwell’s Tavern in Odessa. Among other things, he adds chili oil to deviled eggs and pickled jalapeños to his Southern fried chicken. At the House of William and Merry
in Hockessin, chef Bill Hoffman upgrades his deviled eggs with truffle Parmesan, duck ham and sunflower shoots. As a main, he fancifies a pasta Bolognese with lamb merguez sausage and a house- made peppercorn pappardelle, tossing in blood orange for even more zing.
“You find
that what you’re doing
is just riffing
on proven classics. We like them instantly because they’re familiar and still feel new.”
—Chef Robert Lhulier
If you cook regularly, it’s natural to keep returning to the same dishes. It may help, then, to have a mindset similar to that of Antimo DiMeo of Wilmington’s Bardea Food & Drink. One of his “always evolving” menu standards may taste differently tonight than it did a month ago. Tyler Akin at the Hotel Du Pont’s Le Cavalier keeps a mental list of flavors that he’s constantly mixing and matching as he updates menu items.
Sometimes, upgrading and updating is as simple as adding or subtracting one ingredient. If your favorite cocktail is a Manhattan, ask the bartender what might be interesting to substitute for the cherry. If there’s a different type of bitters, you might give them a try. A friend of mine likes to use sake in place of dry vermouth in his martinis.
For another approach, try matching similar flavors and textures. Start with a standard beef tartare, then add a few crumbles of quality goat cheese. And think of all the ways recent trends like brining, smoking, pickling and stir frying have led us to reinvent dishes with the same or similar ingredients.
So enough chatting. Time to get creative and shake things up. TH
SETTING THE
STANDARD SINCE 1978
Complete design services and fine craftsmanship Custom barns, arenas, garages, and living quarters
1-888-354-4740 | www.kingbarns.com
www.TheHuntMagazine.com 65