THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 30, 1994 TAG: 9406280024
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Ruth Fantasia
DATELINE: 940630 LENGTH: Short
The executive chef and co-owner of the Trellis Restaurant in Williamsburg wrote the award-winning ``Death by Chocolate: The Last Word on a Consuming Passion'' (Rizzoli, 1992).
{REST} Now he's raised the hamburger to new heights. ``The Burger Meisters'' ($20, Simon & Schuster) is a compilation of burger and side dish recipes from Desaulniers and 44 fellow alumni of The Culinary Institute of America.
The recipes reflect U.S. regional cuisines, ranging from beef burgers to the exotic Veal and Smoked Gouda Burger, the down-home Low-Country Rabbit Burger, and the esoteric Buffalo Burger With Piquant Avocado.
There's even a burger to feed your sweet tooth. John Twichell, Trellis' pastry chef and a 1986 Institute graduate, created the Aztec Burger. It's a semi-sweet chocolate patty with white chocolate cheese, kiwi fruit and raspberry relish on a chocolate ``bun.'' A side of ``fries'' is made from pastry dough.
Like Desaulniers' previous books, ``Meisters'' is thorough. Included are instructions for grinding meat, lighting the grill and sending away for hard-to-find ingredients.
But the most delightful part of ``Meisters'' is the glimpse of Desaulniers' own restaurant kitchen. He even admits, for example, to once letting a fire get too hot - setting off the sprinkler system on opening day, 1980.
``The Burger Meisters'' is a starting point for adventurous cooks. As Desaulniers writes: ``Be brave and experiment.''
by CNB