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The Dish: Chef Greg Baxtrom

The Dish
The Dish: Chef Greg Baxtrom 04:47

Greg Baxtrom is a chef with a near-perfect culinary pedigree. Born and raised in Chicago, Baxtrom was attending a local culinary school when he contacted a new restaurant for help with a homework assignment. The restaurant was the extraordinary Alinea and the assignment turned into an internship, and eventually a full-time job.

Later he worked at New York's acclaimed Per Se and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where he learned about the farm-to-table ethic that would influence his current project. His first solo project, Olmsted, was named Food & Wine's Restaurant of the Year, and one of Bon Appetit's best new restaurants in America.  

Here are some of Baxtrom's signature recipes: 

Delicata squash rings 

Ingredients

2 delicata squash
1 cup of flour for dredging
1 tbsp paprika
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges to serve
Salt to taste

Yogurt sauce ingredients

Ingredients
2 cups yogurt 
2 tbsp water
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper to taste 

Beer batter ingredients

2 cups AP flour
1 cup cornstarch 
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp onion powder 
1/2 tbsp cayenne 
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt 
1 cup beer
1.5 cups sparkling water
1 egg 

Directions

1. Combine all yogurt sauce ingredients and set aside. Mix all dry ingredients for beer batter. Whisk in egg, beer, and sparkling water.  Batter is ready to go.

2. Core and slice the squash like an onion ring, to that level of thickness. Dredge in flour.

3. Drop in the beer batter. Fry at 350 for 5 minutes, flip halfway through. Remove from fryer, season with salt. Let is cool for 2 minutes, drizzle yogurt sauce over the top. Sift paprika over the dressed rings and top with cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges.


Crab rangoon 

Sweet and sour chili sauce ingredients

4 1/4 cups orange juice
4 1/4 cups glucose syrup
2 cups red wine vinegar 
2 cups sugar 
1 garlic bulb
1 Fresno pepper, halved
Szechuan pepper 
1 bunch cilantro chopped
3 tbsp Calabrian chilli 
Salt, lemon juice, white soy to taste 

Crab rangoon ingredients

1 cup picked crab meat
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 cup sauteed and chopped kale
1 pack store-bought wonton wrappers

Directions

1. Combine and bring to boil oj, glucose, vinegar, sugar, garlic, cilantro, & fresno pepper. Simmer to desired consistency. Remove from heat & add in szechuan pepper.

2. Mix all ingredients crab rangoon filling ingredients when cold. Divide filling into 10-12 wonton wrappers. Fry for 3 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with sweet and sour chili sauce


Rutabaga pasta with mushrooms and fresh herbs

Ingredients

1 rutabaga
1 bunch chives
1 cup hen of the woods mushrooms
.5 carrot
2.5 stalks celery
1.5 shallots
1 black peppercorn
1/2 bottle dry white wine
1.5 quarts water
1/2 pint cream
2.5 lbs butter

Directions

1. Slice and sweat all vegetables in a pan with black peppercorns. Add wine and cook until dry. Add water and reduce. Add cream and reduce. Take off heat and whisk in butter.

2. Using a Japanese sheeter, sheet and cut ribbons of 12" long .25" wide noodles. Blanche for 4-5 minutes in boiling salted water just like pasta. Remove from boiling water and glaze in the rutabaga sauce until tender. Add sliced chives, black pepper, salt, & previously sautéed mushrooms of your choice, we prefer hen of the woods.


Prosciutto wrapped pork loin 

Ingredients

3 lbs pork loin
12 slices prosciutto, thinly sliced
1 bunch of sage
1 bunch of marjoram
20 cracks of pepper 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Layer prosciutto slices on cutting board width-wise, so just the edges are overlapping. Place pork loin in center, wrap prosciutto around it. Chop marjoram and sage. Sprinkle marjoram and sage atop pork loin, along with 20 cracks of pepper.

2. Roll loin around cutting board so all edges are coated. Sear loin in a saute pan on medium heat with olive oil. Be sure to sear all sides. If saute pan is ovenproof, place pan directly in oven. If not, place loin on coated wire rack and place in oven. Roast for roughly 30 min, or until internal temp is 145 degrees (for medium). Let rest for 10 minutes before carving, slice at half inch slices, serve.


Chocolate mousse

Vanilla crème fraiche ingredients 

1 1/4 cups creme fraiche
3/4 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 pod, vanilla bean

Chocolate mousse ingredients 

18 oz chocolate
15 egg yolks
15 egg whites
1/4 lb butter
1 cups sugar, divided in half
1 pinch cream of tarter
Salt to taste

Directions

1.Combine creme fraiche, milk, and sugar. Scrape vanilla bean pod into the mixture and add the pod as well. Place over low heat until warm, then let steep. Cool mixture then add to iSi canister and charge with nitrous cartridge. Serve alongside or on top of chocolate mousse.

2. Melt together the chocolate and butter, then let cool. Whisk egg yolks with half of the sugar. Whisk whites to stiff peaks with salt and cream of tartar, adding sugar when whipped halfway. Fold together in three stages. Put in individual cups and refrigerate until use. Top with vanilla crème fraiche before serving. 

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