









presented by the
Louisiana Seafood Promotion
and Marketing Board
|
Click here to return to the chef's page
Illinois - Michael Taylor
|
|


LINK TO SITE
|
Currently:
Head Chef, 16 Plates, Springfield, Illinois
Chef, The Plaza on Adams, Springfield, Illinois
Head Chef, Sazerac, Springfield, Illinois, (coming in the Fall of 2009)
Contract Chef, The Pasfield House, Springfield, Illinois
Guest Instructor, Lincolnland Community College
Formerly:
Head Chef, Charles & Limey’s, Springfield, Illinois, 2007 to April 2008.
Head Chef/Owner, The Bayou Grill, Springfield, Illinois, 2007.
Chef/Partner, Froggy’s, Springfield, Illinois, 2002-2004.
Partner, Tuscany Italian Restaurant, Springfield, Illinois, 1998 to 2004.
Head Cook, Third Street Corner Grill, St. Louis, Missouri
I traveled to New Orleans frequently on business and fell in love with the cuisine. I became a frequent customer at Tin Bill’s in Chatham, the only local restaurant to offer anything authentic. When Tin Bill’s closed, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with Ron, learning how he worked. This was the point at which I discovered the passion. When I quit the practice of law, I took several trips to New Orleans and talked myself into what were essentially unpaid internships (now I guess we call them stages) in three different restaurants (No, I cannot tell you where).These experiences broadened my understanding of the culinary arts, although I was still limited to Cajun/Creole/Old World styles. When I became a partner at Tuscany Italian Restaurant, I had a chance to work with chefs and cooks from different genres and I began to understand what makes a dish work and why it makes a dish work. My emphasis is on regional Creole and Cajun fare. The cuisine of Louisiana includes rich influences from Spain, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as African contributions. The diversity of styles in Louisiana provides more than enough outlet for my creative needs. While I will put my own twist on regional classics, I will probably not stray too far from them. I have too much respect for the subtleties of great regional cuisine to indulge my ego by forcing together ideas for the mere sake of fusion. That is not to say that you will not find a Michaelangelo sauce with Louisiana seafood in it, or a creole influenced saltimbocca. But you will not see a Vietnamese fusion with my crawfish pie. My philosophy of cooking, to the extent that I have one: the ingredients of a dish lend themselves to numerous interpretations, preparations and presentations. The cook brings his passion and perspective to the parts (ingredients) to create a whole (the finished dish) that is greater than the sum of the parts. This is where a successful dish gets its soul and this additional essence or flair that is the reflection of the cook’s passion. At the same time, the passion of the cook should accent and complement the selected ingredients – not overwhelm them. Working with the best of seafood is definitely a situation where “less is more” – and too much chef influence at the expense of the seafood will actually decrease the quality of the product. It is vital to respect the food. God has given me spectacular ingredients to work with. I should highlight the food – not change it. |
Competition Recipe
North and South Illinois Seafood Stew
Serves 4-5 as an entree, 7-8 as a first course.
Ingredients
For the Stock
One large yellow onion
Shrimp Shells and Heads
One gallon cold water
One Carrot
Two ribs of celery
For the garnish
2 pablano peppers
2/3 cup of sweet (English) peas
Shrimp stock as needed to thin.
2 tsp. White balsamic vinegar
For the Stew
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup flour
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup diced bell pepper (yellow, green & red)
¾ cup diced shallots
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced green onions (bottoms)
2/3 cup marsala wine
1 cup shrimp stock (see above), plus additional as needed to thin
Seasoning mixture
1 Tbl. Paprika
¾ each of white, red (cayenne) and black pepper
1 Tbl. Granulated garlic
1 Tbl. Minced garlic
1 tsp. Dried basil
1 tsp. Dried thyme
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup fresh sweet (English) peas
1 cup Illini supersweet sweet corn, cut from cob
2 pounds Illinois prawn tails, cut into bite sized chunks.
2 pounds Illinois wild caught walleye, cut into eight portions.
8 large Illinois prawns, head on.
½ cup diced green onion tops
Cooking Method
For the Stock
Add all ingredients to a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until reduced to a quart.
For the Pablano Sauce Garnish
Lightly oil the peppers and place into a 350 degree oven. Roast for ½ hour. Remove from oven and peel the skins. Discard the seeds. Place in a blender with the peas and puree. Add the vinegar. Puree, while slowly adding stock, until a smooth liquid is achieved.
For the Stew
In a twelve inch skillet, heat the oil until very hot. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly until a peanut butter colored roux is achieved.
In one 14 inch skillet, melt to tablespoons of butter over medium high heat. Add the peppers, shallots and the white parts of the green onions and cook over medium heat. The goal is not to completely cook the vegetables, but to sweat some of the liquids from them. As the vegetables begin to wilt, add the marsala and the stock. Add the seasoning mix. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the cream. Allow to simmer for five minutes. Whisk in the roux to thicken to a stew consistency. Add the tomatoes, corn and peas. Bring back to a simmer.
Add the cut shrimp tail meat, the walleye and the green onion tops and allow to simmer about eight minutes. While the stew simmers, quickly sear the heads – on prawns in 2 Tablespoons of butter and a little salt. Set aside, under foil. Now check the doneness of the seafood in the stew mixture. When the seafood in the stew is done, remove the walleye and keep warm.
Assembly
Ladle a portion of the stew into each of eight bowls, to a depth of ½ inch. Place a portion of walleye into the center of each bowl. Ladle more stew around each piece of walleye, so that it comes level with the top of the fish. Top the Walleye with a grilled head – on prawn. Layer a teaspoon of the Pablano sauce at Noon, 4 and 8 o'clock in the bowl. Serve immediately.
Chefs Favorite Easy to Prepare Seafood Recipe
Diavalo Rolls
This is my take on a classic example of Italian “peasant” food. This recipe is my effort to take a sit down dinner item and turn it into a quick sandwich. Try to use wild gulf shrimp for this recipe, because the water content of farmed tiger shrimp is too high. Also, the farmed shrimp do not cook as well – they are a little flabby from laying around the farm pond being fed. Wild shrimp work for a living and have better muscle tone. You will want to use clam meat instead of whole clams to avoid grit. Finally, I suggest 10/20 count sea scallops – the U-10s are a little large to eat in one bite and it is a more pleasing dish with an abundance of scallops, rather than a few monsters.
Ingredients
For the Sauce
3 Tablespoons good olive oil
2 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
1 12 ounce can of diced tomatoes with chiles
1 14 ounce can of diced Italian tomatoes, ideally packed with basil leaf
Tomato paste (as needed to thicken)
3/4 pound shrimp tails (24 count or larger) use Wild Caught American.
¾ pound clam meat
1/2 pound scallops
6 Tablespoons grated Peccorino Romano cheese, plus additional for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish.
Six large hoagie rolls, partially split, so that it opens like a hinge.
Cooking Method
For the Sauce
Combine all spices.
If using fresh tomatoes, peel them now. If using whole tomatoes, chop them now. In any event, reserve their liquid.
If you cannot find pre-minced garlic peel several cloves and dice very fine, until you have 2 Tbl.
Peel the shrimp and remove the tails. If you wish, you may remove the sand vein with a sharp paring knife.
In a six to eight quart dutch oven, or heavy bottomed pan saute the garlic and the spices in the olive oil over medium- high heat, stirring constantly until garlic begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add all chopped tomatoes, cook four more minutes or longer if needed to cook off their liquid. Stir until well incorporated, making sure that the mixture is not trying to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add shrimp and cook another 2 minutes. Add scallops and clam meat, cook another 2 minutes, or until shrimp turn bright pink. Turn off the heat and stir in the choose. Let the sauce rest two minutes.
While the sauce is resting, lightly toast the hoagie rolls.
With ladle, put a small layer of sauce in each hoagie roll. With tongs, equally divide the seafood between the rolls, top with the sauce and garnish with more grated cheese.
|