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太太
shall always remember the kindness and sparkle of
Eric Johnston. Joyce Johnston, his wife, remains still Mom to
her, 15+ years later. One of their most memorable evenings
together in Toronto was the evening at Mildred Pierce
Restaurant.
The
Perfect Lobster Pie
Recipe
from Toronto's Mildred Pierce
"Mildred Pierce didn't have the
slightest clue how to run a restaurant," says Donna Dooher, as we enter
her kitchen to prepare lobster pot pie. Pierce, of course, was the heroine
of the 1941 best-selling novel of the same name, by James M. Cain, and later
of the film version starring Joan Crawford.
"Mildred was homely but dangerous,
sort of like a Betty Crocker in three-inch heels," says Dooher, the
celebrated chef and owner of the Toronto restaurant Mildred Pierce.
"She was a gastronomic femme fatale,
a cook who could flash a bra strap while pouring coffee and drive men to
murder. But she became the toast of L.A. by serving pies."
A petite redhead who could pass for
Gillian Anderson, Dooher has a sharp sense of fun. She often speaks in
conspiratorial whispers.
"Mildred's story was equal parts
thrilling and improbable," she says, as we sit down at a counter
stacked with fresh lobster meat, scallops, shrimp, chopped leeks, shallots
and potatoes. "I love it because only in fiction could a cook with no
restaurant experience lead a life of drama and intrigue and become so
successful offering up variations of the standard pie. I knew that if I ever
had my own restaurant, I would have to name it after Mildred."
What Dooher could not have imagined when
she saw Mildred Pierce almost 20 years ago was that a simple culinary truth
lay at the core of the story: A perfect savoury pie could, indeed, become
the stuff of legend. It took a visit from another bewitching kitchen
character -- her Aunt Kay -- to impart this insight.
Dooher worked in an architect's office
before studying to be a chef at Algonquin College in her native city of
Ottawa. In the early '80s, she moved to Toronto. "I came here, ready to
work with the big boys," she says triumphantly, while rolling out two
types of dough that will form the basis of her dish -- first short crust,
then puff pastry. "I came to join the superstar chefs -- Greg Couillard,
Michael Stadtlander, Michael Bonacini -- in the kitchen."
Then she pauses for an unusually long
moment. "And so?" I ask, wondering which chef she picked.
"Where did you end up?"
"And so," she laughs, "I
ended up as the cook at a small nursing home an hour out of the city. I
couldn't get any restaurant to look at my résumé." Sautéeing the
leeks, shallots and potatoes in a deep copper pot coated with olive oil,
Dooher continues, "Maybe that's why when my Aunt Kay arrived from
Montreal and pulled a newspaper-clipped recipe for seafood pot pie from her
purse, I didn't put up much of a fight. There was nothing about it that I
liked except that its crust included dry mustard. I would have never made
the dish myself."
Dooher also trusted her aunt. A stylish,
single career woman who worked as a bank executive in Montreal, Kay was a
formidable cook and recipe clipper. "She would make them for me in her
kitchen that looked just like Julia Child's," says Dooher. Kay also
took her niece to Montreal's best restaurants, developing her palate.
"During Expo '67, she bought me a pass for all the exotic food
expositions," says Dooher, who couldn't understand how her aunt could
take an interest in a dish that sounded as ordinary as shepherd's pie.
"Today, rustic chic has a certain
culinary appeal," notes Dooher, lining a beautiful copper casserole
with short crust. "Not so in the early '80s. Everything was nouvelle
this and that." Kay's suggestion sounded like a gourmet crime right up
there with chicken à la king.
After the vegetables have wilted, Dooher
adds a healthy amount of white wine to the pot, and then the shrimps,
scallops and lobster. The aroma grows fragrant as Dooher tosses thyme into
the medley. "Although I saw Kay make this dish for her first
time," say Dooher, " she seemed to know all of its secrets
instinctively."
As she stirs, Dooher recounts what Kay
passed on to her. Pastry is key, I learn. The homemade version offers a more
nuanced flavour; as with all pies, the uncooked pastry must be chilled
inside the serving dish for as long as possible so it doesn't shrink during
cooking. As for potatoes, Yukon Golds are ideal because they release the
perfect amount of starch for a rich, smooth sauce that's not too thick.
Leeks, I'm told, must be cut into match-sized strips instead of round
slices, otherwise loops will hang limply off my guests' forks. All the fish
ingredients should be uncooked -- and, ideally, fresh rather than frozen --
to make sure the consistency of all the ingredients is even.
After heating the ingredients for 12
minutes, Dooher throws in a handful of parsley. "Make sure you leave
this herb out until the very end," she warns, "or your beautiful
alabaster sauce will be coloured green." Finally, I'm told that,
although this dish is casual, it should be brought to the table in a stylish
vessel. "Kay took this last point so seriously," recalls Dooher,
"she went out and bought a beautiful ceramic casserole to serve
it."
"I prefer copper," says Dooher,
spooning the fish mixture into a magnificent French pie dish, then putting
it in the oven. Not long after making her first pot pie with Kay, Dooher
tells me, she decided to leave her job at the nursing home and start a
catering company. As her work experience evolved, so did her aunt's dish.
"The original recipe called for white fish, which I now substitute with
lobster. Around the same time I made that alteration, I started to top the
pie with puff pastry for a more delicate crust and began serving it with a
generous spoonful of fig chutney."
It was a hit. The meal became the
signature dish of Dooher's catering company - "which," she says,
"was hard for me to believe at first since the dish is so easy."
And when she opened Mildred Pierce with
her husband, Kevin, in 1991, it was soon the restaurant's most beloved main
course.
As I bite into Dooher's masterpiece, I
find plump shrimp, delicate lobster and bright scallops in a majestically
flavourful stew. The hearty mélange is set off by the surprisingly light
taste of its pale golden pastry. The dish is not only satisfying, it speaks
volumes about three kitchen divas -- Dooher, her Aunt Kay and her heroine,
Mildred Pierce -- who all knew a classic meal is both comforting and
elegant.
But as with any classic, there's more to
the story of Dooher's culinary muses. "Unfortunately," she tells
me, "Mildred was more skilful with pies than men. A penchant for cads
led to the demise of her restaurant."
"But Kay," I offer, "she
must be proud."
There's a moment of silence. "I hope
Kay will clip this article and that she's well in Montreal," she says.
"But we no longer cook together." Then, as though pronouncing the
final sentence of a timeless novel, she declares, "Cooking is full of
mysteries and all about people coming into your life and giving you
things." I want details, but she refuses. Like any femme fatale, she's
left me hungry for more.
DONNA DOOHER'S LOBSTER PIE
Savoury Pastry
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-2 tbsp dry mustard
-1/4 lb unsalted butter, cold
-1/2 lb shortening, cold
-1/2 cup cold water
-1 tbsp white vinegar
-pinch of salt
Sift the flour and dry mustard into a
large bowl. Stir in the salt.
Grate or cut the unsalted butter and
shortening into the flour.
Mix together the cold water and white
vinegar. Add the liquid, 2 tbsp at a time, to the flour and butter, pulling
the dough together. Mix briefly to form a ball.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze until needed.
Puff Pastry
Puff pastry can be bought at a good bakery. Unless you're a master baker,
it's not worth attempting.
Pie
-1 lb savoury short-crust pastry
-1 lb puff pastry
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 tbsp of garlic, finely minced
-3/4 cup of shallots, finely chopped
-3/4 cup carrots, cubed
-3/4 cup celery, cubed
-3/4 cup leeks, white part, cubed
-3 cups potatoes, cubed
-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 cups 35% cream
-1 1/2 cups dry Riesling
-2 tbsp thyme, chopped
-1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
-2 tbsp tarragon, chopped
-1 lb shrimp, peeled and de-veined
-1/2 lb sea scallops, whole
-1 1/2 lbs lobster tail meat, cut in big chunks
-1 tbsp kosher salt
-1 tsp cracked black pepper
-1 egg
-1 tbsp grainy mustard
Preheat oven to 450F. Roll out savoury
short crust and puff pastry into two 12" rounds, 1/4" thick.
Refrigerate puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Line a 10" pie plate, at least
2" deep, with savoury short crust and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over
medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add vegetables.
Cook for 12 minutes until the mixture is lightly browned and potatoes are
soft.
In a small mixing bowl, sprinkle the
all-purpose flour on the cream and whisk to combine.
Deglaze the skillet with the dry
Riesling. Add the cream and the flour mixture. Heat to just under a boil,
stirring constantly. Cook until very thick, about 3 minutes.
Add the thyme, Italian parsley and
tarragon, stirring to combine.
Fold in the raw seafood.
Season with salt and black pepper. Pour
the filling into the pastry shell. Top with the puff pastry and crimp the
edges to seal. Cut 6 small cross-shaped slits in the pastry to allow steam
to escape.
Whisk together the egg and grainy
mustard. Brush surface of the pie with the egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes at
450F. Reduce heat to 350F and bake 45 minutes more until golden brown and
puffed. - From Saturday
Post by Sara Borins
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