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 Sous Chef Laurent Olivier Chef Laurent Olivier is intimate with apples. As a youth in Granville, France, the heart of the Normandy region, he and his peers worked for local farmers beating apple tree limbs with sticks to shake down the high-hanging fruit for harvest. Today he is part of the team at Still River Café in Eastford, CT celebrating seasonal American cuisine. Last spring,Connecticut Magazine highlighted Laurent's Rabbit "Olivier" at Still River Cafe as one of the 50 Dishes to Try Before You Die. Chef Olivier began his culinary studies at just 16 attending the professional French Culinary Chef School of St. Lo in Normandie. There he became qualified as a chef, and Moving to England, Laurent worked at a French restaurant, Bleeding Heart, before moving into banquet and catering work, first at the five-star Churchill Air Intercontinental, then at the Hunt Kundal Polo Club. The Polo Club was the largest catering facility in England—even catering as far away as Germany's Cologne Food Show, and locally to Prince Charles and the Queen of England. Upon arriving in the U.S., Laurent worked his way into the restaurant business locally, and became head chef at The Vine in Putnam, Connecticut before joining Still River Café when it opened. Still River Café at North Ashford Farm is a casually elegant restaurant owned by Kara and Robert Brooks, located in a beautiful 150-year old barn on a 27 acre farm in northeastern Connecticut. The menu features Seasonal New American cuisine, and is based upon fresh, local ingredients-- most of the vegetables grown organically on the farm. Still River Café was voted #1 Foodie Destination in New England in 2008 by Boston Magazine, was rated Extraordinary by The New York Times, and was voted 2010 Best Overall Restaurant by Connecticut Magazine. Still River has included dishes flavored by Westford Hill Distillers' brandies on its menu—chocolate truffles made with Westford Hill Distillers Framboise, and Lobster Bisque flavored with Westford Hill Distillers New World Aged Apple Brandy (another one of Laurent's creations.) |
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Poulet aux Champignons
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge chicken lightly in flour and shake off any excess. Brown chicken 3 to 4 minutes on each side in 2 Tbsp.oil. Remove chicken and reduce heat, and melt in 2 tablespoons butter. Sauté the shallots 3 minutes until soft but not browned. Remove pan from the heat, add the brandy. Return pan to the heat, add mushrooms and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add wine and reduce 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cream and thicken. Add chicken back into the pan. Top with crumbled goat cheese and crispy bacon and bake for 5 – 7 minutes. Tart Tatin 6 to 8 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and halved Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl toss the apple halves with the lemon juice and set aside. Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over high heat. Add the sugar and cook until the sugar melts and then caramelize to an amber color, swirling the skillet if necessary for even browning. (Do not stir or sugar may crystallize.) Remove the skillet from the heat. Arrange a tight layer of apples, rounded sides down, over the caramel. Cut the remaining apple halves in half so that you now have apple quarters. Arrange these over the apple halves, cut sides down, arranging apples neatly. Cover the skillet and return the skillet to the heat. Cook over medium-low heat until the apples are almost tender and have released their juices, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cover and stir in ground star anise, ginger and turmeric, then increase the heat to medium and cook until the juices have reduced and are very thick and syrupy, about 15 minutes. Transfer the dough to the counter top and allow to sit at room temperature until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 12-inch diameter round about 3/16-inch thick. Place the dough atop the hot apples and tuck the edges into the skillet, carefully folding or pushing the overhang down tightly around the apples. Cut several slits in the dough to allow steam to escape while baking. Bake until the tart crust is golden, about 20 minutes. Remove tart from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the skillet to loosen tart, then place a large plate or platter over the skillet. Using oven mitts, CAREFULLY grasp platter and skillet and invert, letting tart settle onto the platter and giving skillet a quick tap if necessary. Carefully lift off the skillet and place any apples remaining in skillet on top of the tart. Cool slightly and serve warm, with whipped cream, if desired. |
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