Sunday, Jun. 01, 2003

Trail Mix

By Eric Degerman

Two restaurants on Lewis & Clark Trail match up with historically inspired wines

The Lyle Hotel Lyle, Wash.

The historic Lyle Hotel, for a time forgotten, now is a gorgeous reminder of what is happening in the Northwest wine industry.

In October 1999, Jim and Penny Rutledge took over the former railroad hotel, built in 1905. The next April, they began participating in Taste Washington, one of only a handful of restaurants from east of the Cascades at the state’s ultimate food and wine pairing extravaganza in Seattle.

“One year, I had a guy come back to our booth seven times for our flank steak,” Penny said. “We love going to Taste Washington because it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to feel good about ourselves.”

Back in Lyle, 65 miles up the Columbia River from Vancouver, Wash., the winemaker dinners at the 10-bedroom river view getaway have created a following.

“We generally do four in the spring and four in the fall,” Jim Rutledge said. “Every dish those nights is one that hasn’t been served on our menu before. Probably 20 to 25 percent of our guests have been to one or another winemaker dinner before, so we want each one to be special.”

Last year, Rutledge’s array of offerings earned one of Wine Press Northwest’s “Outstanding Washington Wine Lists” awards. Rutledge deserved the recognition for his focus on Gorge producers and an inviting policy. He will open any bottle for a two-glass minimum.

“Sometimes, one partner or the other doesn’t drink,” Rutledge said. “One glass of outstanding wine can make up for one or two glasses of mediocre wine. And most of the items on our menus make a recommendation of wine to go with that dish. We’re constantly recommending wine because we want the guest’s meal to be enhanced by our good quality wines.”

The recommendations pay off, Rutledge said. “Wine sales are almost 85 percent of our total bar revenue,” he said.

The innkeepers aren’t the only ones benefiting. Chef Michael Dority, a North Carolina native and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., said his career needed a return to wine.

“Jim is big into his wines, and it’s really good for me that we are so focused on wine and food and the pairing of them,” Dority said. “Here I get to meet the winemakers and sit and talk with them about their wines. At other places I’ve been, you are meeting with the sales rep rather than the winemaker.”

Dority, 43, is in his second year at the Lyle Hotel. His career covers a broad spectrum of the restaurant business, including stops in Barbados, Dallas, a hotel/casino in Biloxi, Miss., Raleigh, N.C., and most recently Fairbanks, Alaska.

“As much as I loved the business part, I had gotten away from my culinary roots,” he said. “I cooked maybe one day a week to train staff. I spent a lot my time counting money.”

Now he’s a one-man show after learning of the job via the Internet.

“I thought it would be a cool place to be,” Dority said. “The Lyle Hotel, even though it is a hotel, doesn’t really feel like a hotel business, more like a small, independent restaurant. It’s the smallest place I’ve ever worked. It’s like a craftsman’s workshop, and it just appealed to me.”

Something about the place clicked with the Rutledges, who weren’t necessarily looking to become innkeepers. Jim, a former executive with Minolta based in California, and Penny, a real estate agent, were vacationing at Mount Hood in July 1999 when they read a newspaper ad that the old hotel was on the market. Even though Jim grew up in Seattle and Penny in Gig Harbor, they didn’t know where Lyle was. But their son, Matt, a windsurfer, sure did.

“God only gives you so many chances, and that’s how we got here,” Jim said.

The Lyle Hotel, left vacant for 18 months, became the Rutledge’s 13th different home, made cozy with their family cats by the fireplace and a professional kitchen that they use as their own. Jim and Penny keep the hotel open 365 days a year, but dinner by Dority is served only Wednesday through Saturday.

“The clientele covers a lot of different segments,” Dority said. “There are some locals from Hood River, The Dalles, Lyle and surrounding towns, but we also get a certain amount of regulars from Portland. As the season comes along, we see more tourists. They come for the Gorge, the wildflowers, windsurfing, hiking or the winery tours.”

Dority’s place is on an old dairy farm at the end of four miles of dirt road. He boasts of an unobstructed view of Mount Adams and a return of sorts to his Tar Heel roots.

“I don’t have any plans to go anywhere soon,” he said. “The stress level, the quality of life, the quality of food and the autonomy. … It’s a really good fit. I love telling people that I have a 25-minute commute to a town of 300 people.”

For Maryhill Winery’s Fort Rock Red, Dority presents a treat for those who attended Taste Washington this year: The Wild Mushroom Strudel with Cougar Gold Cheddar Cheese he served with Cougar Crest Syrah. Dority thought the rich profile of the Fort Rock Red also lends itself to his strudel, which features the regionally famous Washington State University canned cheese.

“The Fort Rock is well balanced and approachable, so I thought I would stick with a good thing,” Dority said.

He was especially pleased with his pairing for the Domaine Meriwether’s Capt. William Clark Cuvée -- Baked Willapa Bay Oysters with Orange Saffron Jus Lie.

“I like the fact that it was crisp with clean flavors, but it wasn’t too hard and not too soft,” Dority said. “There wasn’t any cloying sweetness, so I chose champagne and oysters. I wanted bright, delicate and tangy with light citrus flavors. I wanted you to taste oysters that weren’t covered up with cheese or cream.”

Wild Mushroom Strudel with Cougar Gold Cheese

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:

2 pounds portabella mushrooms 2 pounds button mushrooms 1 medium sized red bell pepper 10 fresh basil leaves 2 large shallots 3 oz. Cougar Gold cheddar cheese 1 pound butter Salt to taste Pepper to taste Worcestershire sauce to taste Balsamic vinegar to taste 6 eggs 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs 1 pound packaged phyllo pastry sheets

Directions

-- Remove stems and gills from portabellas. Cut into 1⁄4 inch dice.

-- Shred button mushrooms through large grater on food processor.

-- Cut red bell pepper into very fine dice, brunoise.

-- Cut basil leaves, chiffonade.

-- Mince shallots.

-- Chop/crumble Cougar Gold cheese into 1⁄4 inch pieces.

-- Melt 1/2 pound of butter in large shallow pan.

-- Add shallots and red bell pepper on low heat until shallots become translucent.

-- Add mushrooms and continue to cook stirring constantly.

-- Season mixture liberally with salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and balsamic vinegar.

-- Add basil, and simmer about 10 minutes.

-- Drain and cool mixture, pressing out as much liquid as possible.

-- Transfer mixture to large mixing bowl, and add Cougar Gold cheese.

-- Add three eggs, and bread crumbs. Mix well. Set filling aside.

-- To construct the strudel, Beat three remaining eggs with 1-2 ounces of water to make an egg wash.

-- Melt remaining 1/2 pound of butter.

-- Open phyllo and lay flat. Note: Once phyllo is open you must work quickly, as phyllo will rapidly dry out and become brittle.

-- Using a pastry brush, brush one sheet of phyllo with melted butter.

-- Place another sheet of phyllo on top, and brush with melted butter.

-- Repeat process until you have a stack of at least 7 layers of phyllo with melted butter in between.

-- Arrange filling down the center of phyllo stack about 1 1⁄2 inches high, and 3 inches wide, pack tightly.

-- Wrap one side of phyllo over filling and brush with egg wash.

-- Wrap other side of phyllo over filling tightly.

-- Invert strudel onto baking pan lined with parchment paper, seam down.

-- With a pastry brush thoroughly apply egg wash to top and sides of strudel.

-- Bake in 375°F oven until set firm and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

-- Cool completely, then transfer to refrigerator.

-- Chill overnight

-- Slice with serrated knife, using long strokes.

Baked Willapa Bay Oysters with Orange Saffron Jus Lié

Serves 2-4

Ingredients: 1 dozen Willapa Bay oysters 16 oz. fresh orange juice 8 oz. clam juice 1 gram saffron 4 oz. melted butter Salt and pepper to taste 1 lemon 1 bunch fresh chives, minced 2 oz. corn starch

Directions

-- Carefully shuck oysters reserving liquid and bottom shells.

-- In a saucepan, combine oyster liquid, orange juice, clam juice, and saffron. Simmer on low heat about 10 minutes.

-- In each oyster shell place a small amount of melted butter and one oyster. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Squeeze juice from one lemon over top of oysters.

-- Mix corn starch with 3-4 oz water to form a slurry. Mix well to ensure there are no lumps.

-- Slowly add corn starch slurry to simmering juice, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Add only enough slurry to slightly thicken the juice.

-- Place oysters in a hot oven (375-400 degrees), bake to desired doneness.

-- Remove oysters from oven, drain excess butter, and arrange on a plate.

-- Spoon jus lié, thickened juice, over oysters and sprinkle with minced chives.

-- Serve immediately.

The Lyle Hotel, 100 Seventh St., Lyle, Wash. 509-365-5953, www.lylehotel.com.

Silver Salmon Grille Astoria, Ore.

The Silver Salmon Grille in Astoria, Ore., is just a few miles from the end of the Lewis & Clark Trail.

And it so happens that Chicago Tribune travel writer Alan Soloman, who last summer tracked the path of those famous explorers by car, inadvertently saved the most enjoyable meal of his journey for last.

That was at Jeff and Laurie Martin’s Silver Salmon Grille.

“We found out at the end of the dinner who he was,” Jeff said. “He was on a 12-day trip and said it was the best meal of the trip.”

For the record, Soloman dined on fresh troll-caught king salmon, grilled and topped with Dungeness crab and a green peppercorn buerre blanc. The article was published last August.

“We’ve also had some press in the L.A. Times and the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, and that’s always great,” Jeff said.

Meanwhile, Martin and executive chef Jay Barry Funk continue to earn local and regional praise for their cuisine and wine list. The success allowed the Martins to expand their business in the Fisher Building downtown from 60 to 120 seats in the dining room, even in the face of Oregon’s difficult economy.

“It’s been above and beyond our expectations,” Jeff said. “Astoria has come a long way in tourism. Usually, the first four or five years you are just hoping to stay open, but each holiday we beat the numbers from the holiday before.”

The arrival of Funk, an ice carver extrodinaire, helped set the table for the Martins. Jeff and Laurie are native Oregonians, and Jeff spent 20 years as a chef in Portland and along the Oregon coast before he and Laurie purchased the restaurant in January 2001. Their search for a chef caught Funk just as he was about to leave town because of a restaurant closure.

“I was packed,” said Funk, a native of Orlando, Fla., with 15 years of experience as chef at Disney World and Epcot Center. “Jobs here are few and far between, but I didn’t want to leave this area. Everywhere you look, the scenery is beautiful. The hardest part for me is the cold. I don’t mind the wet because it rains all the time in Florida.”

That helps explain why Funk has been with the Martins from the start, as much a fixture at the Silver Salmon Grille as the historic 120-year-old Scottish cherry wood antique bar and the annual coloring contest on the butcher paper used in place of table cloths.

“Jay and I do a lot of collaborating, and we work together on winemaker dinners,” Martin said. “I don’t dabble too much in the kitchen though. My wife and I get to stay out front and greet the guests, and I talk with them about wines.”

Astoria is Laurie’s hometown, while Jeff’s family still lives in The Dalles. It affords Jeff the opportunity to keep tabs on the Oregon and Washington wine scenes.

“When you look at the wine list, you’ll see that it’s heavy on Oregon and Washington,” Jeff said. “I like to have the variety. We have the biggest list in Astoria, and I’m a little bit of a collector myself.”

For the Match Makers, Funk and Martin got a little indigenous.

They chose halibut with hazelnuts, accompanied by a champagne oyster cream for the Domaine Meriwether Cpt. William Clark Cuvée.

“There was a nutty flavor to it,” Martin said. “That’s why we went with hazelnuts and the Oregon connection, plus oysters tend to go well with champagne. The oyster sauce is almost like an oyster stew, but instead of sherry, we used champagne to tie it together.”

The Fort Rock Red from Maryhill led Funk and Martin in another direction.

“It had these really great cherry flavors and some boldness, but it’s not overly tannic,” Martin said. “So we chose the tenderloin with the cherry beurre rouge sauce, using the wine in the sauce.”

Pink Pepper Crusted Filet Cordon Blue with Cherry Beurre Rouge Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients 1/4 cup dry dark cherries 4 teaspoons shallots, chopped fine 4 teaspoons roasted garlic 4 teaspoons pink peppercorns, crushed 8 ounces Maryhill Fort Rock Red 6 ounces heavy cream 6 ounces butter 2 7-ounce center cut tenderloin steaks Salt and granulated garlic to taste 3 ounces prosciutto, sliced thin 3 ounces Swiss cheese, cut into sticks 4 teaspoons fresh chives

Directions for sauce

-- Place cherries, shallots, garlic, 1 teaspoon of the peppercorns and red wine in sauce pan. Reduce until small amount of liquid is left.

-- Add heavy cream and reduce by half.

-- Cut butter into small pieces and add slowly to sauce stirring constantly until melted. Set sauce aside.

-- Season fillets with remaining 3 teaspoons of peppercorns, salt and garlic.

-- Mark fillet on flame broiler or BBQ.

-- Cut incision in top center of fillet.

-- Wrap prosciutto around cheese and insert into fillet.

-- Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes or till medium-rare.

-- Rewarm sauce if necessary. Ladle 2 ounces of sauce onto each plate. Place steaks on sauce in center of plates.

-- Place cherries around steaks. Garnish steaks with fresh chives.

-- Serve with fresh asparagus spears and garlic mashed potatoes.

Hazelnut Encrusted Halibut Florentine with Champagne Oyster Cream Serves 2 2 teaspoons butter 8 yearling oysters, cut in half 2 teaspoons shallots, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup Domaine Meriwether Capt. William Clark Cuvée 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons green onion, chopped Salt and white pepper to taste 2 6-ounce fresh halibut fillets 1/4 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs 2 ounces clarified butter 2 cups baby spinach leaves 2 tablespoons fresh fennel, chopped

Directions

-- Melt butter in sauté pan. Sauté oysters, shallots and garlic for 1 minute.

-- Remove oysters and deglaze pan with champagne and reduce until a small amount of champagne is left.

-- Add cream and reduce by half.

-- Return oysters to pan with tomatoes and green onion. Reduce to nice sauce consistency. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Set sauce aside.

-- Lightly season halibut with salt and pepper.

-- Mix bread crumbs and hazelnuts. Coat halibut with nut mixture.

-- Heat butter in sauté pan over medium heat.

-- Cook halibut 8-10 minutes until almost done. Remove from pan and wilt spinach with fennel and a splash of champagne in same pan.

-- Place wilted spinach on plate and lay halibut fillet halfway on bed of spinach.

-- Ladle a little sauce over halibut and serve the rest of the sauce in a sauce boat. -- Serve with rice pilaf.

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