July 22, 2001 - "Fruit, Flowers and Fish"
at Schumacher's Restaurant
Owner Chef John Schumacher admonished his Chaine guests to "laugh hard, have fun, and leave the chef a big tip." So began a most memorable summer evening at Schumacher’s New Prague Hotel for the Minneapolis Bailliage on the evening of July 22. Set in the pastoral countryside some forty miles outside the Twin Cities, Schumacher’s has long been a favorite inn noted for its fine Eastern European cuisine, reflecting the German and Czech heritage of the Chef and the surrounding area. "Not so" for this July evening, as Chef Schumacher pulled out all the stops of his creative culinary genius to surprise guests with a summer sampler as pleasing to the eye as to the palate.
"Fruit, flowers and fish" were his inspirations, and as each course appeared, so did a new twist on that theme. An aperitif of Kenwood Cuvee Natural 1998 with a colorful natural black currant drizzle accompanied the starters that included crab fruit salad served on sun dried tomato chips, a green mussel and oyster roll served in the mussel shell, and pheasant bundles with fresh marinated horseradish. The favorite, a tea-smoked monkfish liver mousse on rosti potato chips, was topped with gingered and wasabi caviar.
The first course, a fresh water shrimp bisque with cream and cognac, was infused with the roasted ground shells for a thick, creamy flavorful beginning. A Domaine Tempier Brandol Rose 2000 accompanied it. The floral finish of Zind Humbrecht Gerwurtztraminer 1998 was the perfect match for the mixture of flavors in the squid submarine. It was stuffed with curried walleye cheeks, golden kiwi, a surprise sweet gherkin, and garnished with a dollop of peach catsup. Fruit, flowers and fish, indeed!
A refreshing intermezzo of black raspberry sparkling ice preceded the main event: roasted lobster pot pie! Served in a halved acorn squash, topped with a barbeque-flavored puff pastry lid, the pot pie was accompanied by riced purple potatoes and white asparagus spears. The Cristom Mt. Jefferson Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley was a perfect accompaniment to this red-white-and-blue extravaganza.
Resorting again to the fruity finesse of a German wine to handle the flavor combinations, a Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese from the Mosel was served with the wasabi mango jicama salad. Wasabi and wine? A great flavor match!
The chevre and cambazola twist with pineapple carpaccio was drizzled with grapeseed oil. "Too lovely to eat" – but they did, as they sipped a Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre from the Loire.
Billed as Chef John’s "Club Sandwich," the dessert was a triple-decker of mashed bananas, gelato and warm watermelon pudding. An Austrian Trockenbeerauslese 1976 from the Schumacher private cellar provided the golden finale for guests to linger over as they applauded their hosts, Kathleen, Brandi and John Schumacher. Fortunately, most of the guests were able to retire to the adjoining inn after this most memorable evening, having laughed hard, eaten well, and surely leaving a big tip.
Chef and Host Maitre Rotisseur/Commandeur John Schumacher
Menu
Crab Fruit Salad on Tomato Chips
Tea Smoked Monkfish Mousse Rosti Potatoes with Gingered and Wasabi
Caviar
Green Mussel and Oyster Roll with Roasted Corn
Pheasant Bundle with Fresh Grated Horseradish
Kenwood Cuvee Natural 1998, Sonoma
Fresh Water Shrimp Bisque
Domaine Tempier Brandol Rose 2000, Provence
Squid Submarine stuffed with Curried Walleye Cheeks, Golden Kiwi,
Sweet Gherkin Garnished with Peach Catsup
Zind Humbrecht Gewurtztraminer 1998, Turkheim
Black Raspberry Sparkling Ice
Roasted Lobster Pot Pie with Riced Purple Potato and White Asparagus
Spears
Cristom Mt. Jefferson Pinot Noir 1998, Willamette Valley
Mango Jicama Salad
Dr. F. Weins – Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese 1999,
Mosel
Chevre and Cambazola Twist with Pineapple Carpaccio
Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre 2000, Loire Valley
Chef John’s Club Sandwich with Warm Watermelon Pudding
Müller – Thurgau Donnerskirchner Sonnenberg Trockenbeerauslese
1976, Rust Austria
Sumatra Mandheling Coffee