Day 8: Craig Stoll and Croques Monsieur

Tonight, Restaurateur Craig Stoll of Delfina Restaurant Group came and talked to us for about 90 minutes. So cool to get exposure to people like this. He opened Delfina back in the early 90s and then ended up expanding to 5 pizzerias and Locanda. During the talk, he lit up when discussing ingredients, and recipe development, and what inspires him culinarily, but really didn’t want to talk about the business very much, despite the fact that that is now the majority of how he spends his time. He said most chefs who end up managing a restaurant talk about how they hope to "earn their way back into the kitchen". Some highlights from the talk:

• • He goes back to Italy at least a couple of times a year for inspiration and to make sure his cuisine stays close to its roots. When he's thinking about adding a dish to his menu, he'll try to eat every single version of it that they can -  he said he's tried dozens of different carbonaras and amatricianas in Rome, because each chef will do it differently and he wants to pull from all the best elements

• • Don’t try and make a riff on something until you can do the original really really really well

• • He said that in going to Culinary school in Italy, he had to unlearn a lot of the habits he was taught in the US - American food is all about layering and complexity, whereas Italian food is about simplicity. He had his chef instructors yelling at him to stop adding different ingredients to various dishes, and to just keep things simple.

• • Going to the Amalfi Coast is like the scene in the Wizard of Oz when everything turns to color. Everything is more colorful and more delicious (the latter likely being due to the volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius making the soil super rich)

• • Despite the topography and agriculture being similar in the Bay Area compared to Italy, food somehow just tastes better  in Italy - the most simple of pastas, with just basil and tomato from the garden, turns into the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten. He’s not sure if its the setting, or as he put it, “because you’re eating in the Italian countryside, overlooking vineyards, a glass of wine in your hand, gazing at your lover” or because there is something physically different about the soil to make the produce taste different. Cause aside, he said this results in needing to up the intensity of the food you’re cooking, and using different ingredients and tactics than those employed by an Italian chef in Italy

• • Being a head chef anywhere for 3 years is a really long run (yeesh that sounds stressful)
  • It’s hard to have a family and run a restaurant

Alright onto the food. After the talk we made Croques Monsieur. One thing I’m really enjoying about class is the exposure to dishes that I would never normally order, or make myself. Croques Monsieur certainly falls into that bucket. But, it’s super delicious (albeit very rich - bite size ones would be fab). General method:

1. Make your bechamel, adding a bit of mustard powder for flavor (bechamel = blonde roux + milk/cream). When adding milk, whisk constantly until it comes to a boil and begins to thicken.
2. Season and remove from heat. If not serving right away, cover with plastic wrap to avoid a film from coating the sauce.
3. Preheat oven to 425
4. Slice good bread and layer with a thin coat of mustard. Then top with a layer of béchamel, then thinly sliced ham, grated gruyere and then more béchamel and more gruyere (not for the faint of heart!)
5. Bake in oven until cheese start to bubble and then eat that golden deliciousness while still hot, ideally with a simple green salad