Baldwin’s Station Chef Darrick Granai’s special dish is Venison Tenderloin Wrapped in Applewood Smoked Bacon.
Written By Michael Vyskocil, Photos by: Sherri Hosfeld Joseph
Bringing people together around the dinner table to enjoy fine food and great company is a comforting way to pass the evenings of late winter and early spring.
With family entertaining in mind, Carroll Magazine asked chefs Michael Gettier, of Taneytown’s Antrim 1844; Darrick Granai, of Sykesville’s Baldwin’s Station; Dean Winning, of The Mt. Airy Tavern, and John Mandato, of Hampstead’s Greenmount Station, to share their favorite recipes.
Here they are, along with their bona fides:
Butternut Squash Soup with Feta
From Executive Chef Michael Gettier, Antrim 1844, Taneytown
At Antrim 1844, renowned Executive Chef Michael Gettier presents guests with a sophisticated menu of contemporary French cuisine each evening: hand-passed hors d’oeuvres, elegant appetizers, creative salads, an intermezzo, sumptuous entres and a panach of desserts.
After training at Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne in Paris in 1983, Gettier worked in restaurants in Paris and Italy. Before arriving at Antrim 1844, Gettier owned two restaurants in the Baltimore area: The Orchard Inn in Towson and M. Gettier in Fells Point. He also served as Executive Chef at The Conservatory at the Peabody Court Hotel in Mount Vernon.
Gettier was named one of the Leading Hotel Chefs in America in 1990 by the James Beard Society.
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups leeks, white parts only, sliced
1 1/2 cups onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
4 cups (two medium) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 cup dry white wine
1 quart homemade or canned low-sodium chicken stock
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
Feta cheese, crumbled, for garnishing
Finely chopped chives, for garnishing
- Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks, onion and celery; cook until vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add squash and apple. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Uncover, add wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by 1/3 in volume, about 10 minutes. Add chicken stock. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes or until butternut squash is very soft.
- Pure soup mixture in a blender or food processor in several batches until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Ladle soup into serving bowls. Garnish with a sprinkling of feta cheese and chives. Serves 4
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Venison Tenderloin Wrapped in Applewood Smoked Bacon
From Executive Chef Darrick Granai, Baldwin’s Station, Sykesville
Executive Chef Darrick Granai, a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, heads the kitchen of Baldwin’s Station restaurant in Sykesville.
After cutting his teeth in the food business at Wright’s Catering in Derby, Vermont, and Hoagie’s Pizza and Pasta in Newport, Vermont, when he was 15 years old, Granai began formal training in the culinary arts.
He has had the opportunity to work for several accomplished chefs, including Executive Chef Eric Yeager, formerly of Baldwin’s Station. Although Maryland may be miles away from the small town of Newport, Vermont, where Granai was raised, his New England upbringing continues to inspire him.
“Throughout all of my years in this business,” he said, “I have felt that the best food is food that is prepared fresh, using indigenous ingredients, with passion and a simplistic approach,”
1 seven- to eight-ounce piece venison tenderloin, trimmed
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
7 strips applewood smoked bacon
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped, plus 4 shallots, peeled and roasted
6 cups burgundy wine, such as Chablis
4 cups veal demi-glace
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped from stems and finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stems and finely chopped
2 cups julienned wild mushrooms, such as shiitake or Portobello
1/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Season venison tenderloin on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange five strips of applewood smoked bacon vertically on a cutting board, overlapping strips slightly. Place two strips horizontally across vertical strips of bacon. Place tenderloin down on horizontal pieces of bacon. Fold bacon over edges of the tenderloin. Roll remainder of the tenderloin up in the bacon.
- In a medium skillet, saut garlic and unroasted shallots over medium heat until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add wine and reduce liquid by half. Once wine has reduced, add roasted shallots, veal demi-glace, rosemary, thyme, mushrooms and light-brown sugar. Continue cooking until mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Place tenderloin in skillet and sear, starting first with the seam side of bacon-wrapped tenderloin. Rotate meat in skillet, searing all sides until browned.
- Transfer skillet to oven and roast until internal temperature of the tenderloin reaches 128 to 130 degrees F., about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow meat to rest for 5 minutes. Transfer tenderloin to a carving board and slice into medallions. Serve immediately. Serves 1 to 2 as a main course
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Cranberry-Walnut Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Crme Anglaise
By Executive Chef Dean Winning, The Mt. Airy Tavern
Executive Chef Dean Winning has enjoyed more than 20 years experience in kitchens throughout Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. He was graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, New York and apprenticed under the artful eye of Marcel Desaulniers at The Trellis Restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia.
During his career, Winning helped Chef Mark Miller, of Santa Fe’s famous Coyote Caf, open Red Sage restaurant in Washington, D.C. After Red Sage, Winning became Executive Chef at New Heights Restaurant, also in Washington, D.C.
Winning has been featured in several national publications, including Food and Wine, The Metropolitan Home, Esquire and Bon Apptit.
Unsalted butter, for buttering pan
2 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
5 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 loaf firm white sandwich or sourdough bread, cubed
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, heavy cream, eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon.
- Add bread cubes, walnuts and cranberries to egg mixture in mixing bowl. Stir gently to coat bread cubes with liquid.
- Spread bread pudding mixture evenly in prepared baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until custard sets and bread pudding becomes a rich, golden color.
- Remove from oven and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature with Cinnamon Crme Anglaise (recipe follows) on the side. Serves 8 to 9
Cinnamon Crme Anglaise
4 cups half-and-half
10 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- In a medium nonreactive saucepan, bring half-and-half to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until thick and fluffy. Add half of the boiled half-and-half in dribbles while whisking constantly.
- Transfer egg-and-sugar mixture to the saucepan with the remaining half-and-half. Set over medium heat and, stirring constantly, cook until sauce thickens into a light, creamy mixture. Do not simmer or egg yolks will curdle.
- Remove sauce from the heat. Add vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. Whisk for a moment and strain through a fine sieve. Let cool. After cooling, refrigerate, covered. Makes about 5 cups.
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Italian Chicken Chesapeake
By Head Chef John Mandato, Greenmount Station, Hampstead
Head Chef John Mandato has been cooking professionally since 2000. During that time, he has had the opportunity to work in various Baltimore-area kitchens such as Pikesville’s Bonnie View Country Club and the Hilton Pikesville hotel. Mandato notes that Greenmount Station serves a variety of classic American fare, including steaks, seafood and the ever-popular Maryland jumbo lump crab cakes.
1 ten-ounce boneless and skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup fresh baby spinach leaves, washed and dried, chopped
1/4 cup fresh, jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup homemade or prepared Marinara sauce
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place breast on a cutting board with the smooth side down. Remove the small inner fillet, the tender, by removing any connective tissue with a large chef’s knife. Turn over chicken breast. With the edge of the knife parallel to cutting board, cut down the length of the side of breast. Carefully cut breast in half widthwise almost to the opposite edge. Open breast up like a book along the fold. Cover chicken with a piece of plastic wrap, and using a meat tenderizer, pound chicken breast until desired thickness is reached.
- Stuff chicken breast with mozzarella cheese, spinach leaves and crabmeat.
- Close chicken breast around filling and pinch chicken around edges.
- Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Gently dredge outside of chicken breast in breadcrumbs.
- In a medium ovenproof skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Place chicken in skillet and cook on each side until just beginning to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Transfer skillet to oven and bake chicken until done but still tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Spoon Marinara sauce onto serving plate. Remove chicken from skillet and transfer to a cutting board. Slice chicken on an angle into three or four pieces. Place chicken pieces on serving plate on top of Marinara sauce. Serve immediately. Serves 1 to 2
Where the Chefs Preside:
Antrim 1844
30 Trevanion Road, Taneytown, MD 21787, 410-756-6812, www.antrim1844.com
Baldwin’s Station
7618 Main Street, Sykesville, MD 21784, 410-795-1041, www.baldwinsstation.com
Greenmount Station
1631 North Main Street, Hampstead, MD 21074, 410-239-0063, www.greenmountstation.com
The Mt. Airy Tavern
1001 Twin Arch Road, Mt. Airy, MD 21771; 301-829-3212; www.themtairytavern.com
