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Chef Jim Grey
This sprawling project would not have been
possible without the generous use of Chef Jim Gray’s culinary
talents, so it is only appropriate we pay homage to the good chef.
You might recognize him as the host of ABC’s the “Kitchen Guy,” a
local morning television show. But the media darling is just one of
Chef Gray’s many faces. “I started out in journalism; I have a
degree in it actually and was an anchorman in Indianapolis for
awhile.”
Gray went on to have a variety of careers in various media outlets,
but spent a good deal of his life running
non-profit organizations. No matter what career path Gray undertook,
he always had a love of cooking that occupied some part of his mind.
“I have always had a passion for cooking, for as long as I can
remember. He laughs, when I was a bachelor, I did it to pick up
woman! But I didn’t start looking at it as a career until later in
my life. You could say it was my mid-life crises.”
To build a solid foundation for a new career tract, Gray enrolled in
cooking school. “Cooking school was much harder than I anticipated.
I took an advanced course right away and, to tell you the truth, I
was just winging it. Most of the class was younger than me and
already knew the basic rules of the kitchen. I was in over my head,
but I caught on quickly and received an (A) in the class.”
Chef Gray seems to have a true knack for the culinary arts, he
received the prestigious 2005 Montana Chef of the Year Award from
the American Culinary Federation and Montana Chefs Association. “I
was shocked! I called my friends back in Indianapolis and they were
giving me a hard time, saying, ‘Well there are only three of you.
They’ve got to give it to somebody.”
When asked what his plans for the future are the chef explains, “My
hope is to put my stamp on the Montana food scene and to be
aggressive and ambitious with what this state has to offer.”
Chef Jim Gray is available as a personal chef and caterer, for more
information call 406-531-2665. Jim Gray’s “Kitchen Guy” show airs
Wednesdays at 7:25 and 8:25 a.m. on KTMF ABC-23 in Missoula and KTMF
ABC-59 in Kalispell. For more information about Chef Gray go to
kitchenguy.biz. |
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Recipes
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2 racks of lamb (baby racks are best)
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 shallot, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp. Italian parsley, minced
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup Dijon mustard
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 450º. Cut racks into double chops and scrape the
bones of any fat, gristle or other membranous tissue. Salt and
pepper the lamb and set aside.
Heat some olive oil. Add the shallots, then the garlic and sauté
until they begin to brown. Add the breadcrumbs and keep the mixture
moving in the pan so it does not burn. When the breadcrumbs are
toasted, remove the pan from the heat and dump the mixture into a
cool pan or glass pie plate.
Mix together sour cream and Dijon mustard and blend well.
In a skillet large enough to hold all of the lamb, sear the chops
over high heat, browning the lamb on all sides. When chops have been
seared, let them cool slightly so that you can handle them.
“Paint” each chop with the Dijon mixture and then coat with the
toasted breadcrumbs. Roast in the oven 8 to 10 minutes for medium
rare, or check with your instant read thermometer. For medium rare,
pull the chops when the internal temperature is 128º. The carryover
cooking will complete the cooking. |
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6 Tsp. unsalted butter
1 lb. assorted wild mushrooms, cut into ½ inch pieces
2 large shallots, minced
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
8 frozen puff pastry cups, thawed
1 large egg, thinned with water and lightly beaten
6 oz. soft fresh goat cheese at room temperature
2 tsp. fresh thyme
¼ cup whipping cream
Melt 4 Tbsp. of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium high
heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until soft and dry, about 5 minutes.
Add remaining butter to skillet, then shallot. Sauté until shallot
is soft, about 4 minutes longer. Add nutmeg. Season mushroom filling
with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange puff pastry cups
onto lightly floured surface and remove centers.
Heat oven to 400º. Bake pastry shells until golden. Maintain oven
temperature. Spread goat cheese over bottom of each shell. Top with
mushrooms and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Drizzle with
cream and bake until heated through. |
Provencal Style Tomato-Olive
Compote
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4 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely diced
3 oz. finely chopped Nicoise or black olives
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 shallot, finely minced
2 tsp. Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients together, except olive oil, and keep covered in
refrigerator for flavors to blend. While lamb is cooking, remove
from refrigerator, add olive oil to moisten, and mix well. |
Gateau de Pommes
a la Parisienne*
*Adapted from Patricia Wells |
½ cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Pinch of nutmeg
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/3 cup whole milk
4 baking apples, cored, peeled and cut into thin wedges
Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400.
Butter a 9-inch spring form pan and set it aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
and stir to blend. Add the vanilla extract, eggs, oil and milk and
stir until well blended. Add the apples and stir to thoroughly coat
them with the batter.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Place the pan in the
center of the oven and bake until fairly firm and golden, about 25
minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the topping. In a small bowl, combine the sugar,
egg and melted butter and stir to blend. Set it aside.
Remove the cake from the oven and pour the topping mixture over it.
Return the cake to the oven and bake until the top is a deep golden
brown and the cake feels quite firm when pressed with your
fingertip, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the cake pan to a rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Run a knife around the sides of the pan, and release and remove from
the spring form pan, leaving the cake on the base. Serve at room
temperature, cut into thin wedges.
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