MAUI ONION RINGS IN RED ALE BATTER
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The summer of the 1984 LOS ANGELES OLYMPICS, I got a phone call from the L.A. Times Food Section asking if I planned to serve any special Olympic dishes at Michael’s. Thinking of my friend Robert Runyon, who designed the logo for the ’84 games, I jokingly told the Times I was going to make the Olympic rings out of Maui onions.

Then it hit me that that wasn’t a bad idea. Those sublimely sweet onions would make great onion rings. (If you can’t get Mauis, substitute Vidalias from Georgia, Walla Wallas from Washington, or the mildest, sweetest red or brown onions you can buy.) To complement their flavor, the batter is made with rich red Killian’s ale, which also gives it a pale brown color; you can substitute any good-quality bottled ale.

The key to a batter that fries up light and crisp is adding just the right amount of cornstarch: too little and the batter will be cakey, too much and it will absorb fat during frying. Beef suet, with its distinctive flavor and high frying temperature, is the ultimate choice for cooking the onion rings. It’s available in most supermarkets. Why compromise?

Ingredients
• 6 medium-size Maui onions, peeled
• Rendered beef suet or vegetable oil for deep frying
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 2 bottles, 12 ounces each, ale, preferably Killian’s red

Cut the onions crosswise into ¼- to 3/8- inch slices and separate them into rings. Don’t discard the centers of the slices; they’ll fry up into delicious crisp nuggets.

Put the suet in a deep-fryer or a large, heavy skillet; there should be enough fat when melted to give a depth of at least 4 inches. Heat the suet to 375 degrees F on a deep-frying thermometer.
While the suet is heating, put the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the ale, beating with a wire whisk just until the batter is smooth.

When the suet is hot, dredge the onion rings by hand in the batter and carefully drop the rings into the fat, adding just as many rings at one time that can float without crowding on the surface of the fat.

Fry the onion rings, turning them once with a wire skimmer, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove them with the skimmer, drain on paper towels, and serve at once while you cook the remaining batches.

WILD MUSHROOM SALAD WITH PANCETTA
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This combination of three different kinds of wild mushrooms works, with each mushroom contributing a different taste, texture, and color- the vivid orange chanterelles, firm, rich, and slightly eggy in flavor; the pale oyster mushrooms, moist, succulent, and almost tasting of the sea; and the dark brown shitakes, meaty and duck-like with their crisp-textured caps. You can make it with or without the Italian bacon, pancetta, which adds yet another dimension of flavor.

Browning the mushrooms quickly in searingly hot walnut oil brings out their aromatic, naturally sweet tastes; the fresh greens, which wilt on contact with the hot mixture, lighten up the whole salad. You can substitute a selection of whatever available salad greens are youngest, smallest, freshest, and most beautiful for those that are suggested in the recipe.

This is one of those combinations you have to eat the moment it hits the table to extract the maximum taste.

Ingredients
• 3 bunches mache, leaves separated and trimmed
• 2 bunches arugula, leaves separated and trimmed
• 2 heads baby limestone lettuce, leaves separated and trimmed
• 1 head baby radicchio, leaves separated and trimmed
• ¼ cup walnut oil
• ½ pound each fresh chanterelle, shitake, and oyster mushrooms, trimmed and cut into ½- inch pieces
• ½ ounce pancetta, cut into thin julienne strips, optional
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 2 medium-size cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ cup sherry wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons each minced fresh basil, tarragon, thyme, and chives
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toss all the greens together in a salad bowl.
In a large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the walnut oil over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add the mushrooms and let them sear, without stirring, for about 30 seconds; then sauté them, stirring constantly, for about 2 ½ minutes more, until nicely browned. Add the mushrooms to the salad bowl.

To the same pan, still over high heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sauté the pancetta for about 30 seconds; then add the pine nuts and sauté until golden, about 1 minute. Add the shallots and stir them quickly, then add the garlic and sauté about 30 seconds more. Add the vinegar and stir and scrape to deglaze the pan, then stir in the herbs, salt, and pepper.

Pour the hot dressing into the salad bowl and toss immediately to coat all the greens. Mound the mixture on salad plates and serve immediately.

Wine suggestion
This is wonderful for a fine california chardonnay, well balanced, with medium body and a moderate butteriness- try Neyers, Acacia, or Alos Duval. Or serve a beaujolais to complement the flavor of the pancetta.

GRILLED CHICKEN AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD WITH
JALAPENO-CILANTRO-LIME SALSA
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ONE of the great pleasures of this dish is its spontaneity. THE salad greens are dressed not only with the balsamic-vinegar-and-olive-oil vinaigrette, but also with the juices that drip from the sliced grilled chicken breasts and the salsa. While it may seem like a wild combination, they all work together; it’s one of those moments-like when all the planets align. Substitute your own combination of fresh young salad greens if the ones I suggest aren’t available.

For 6 servings
• 6 chicken breast halves, bones, skin left on, and wing bones attached
• 1 log, about 12 ounces, fresh, creamy white California goat cheese, cut into ¼- inch medallions
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 each red and yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¾- to 1-inch wide strips
• 1 large or 2 medium-size Maui, Walla Walla, Vidalia, or sweet red onions peeled and cut into 3/8- inch slices
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 heads limestone lettuce, leaves separated, washed, dried, and torn
• 3 bunches mache, leaves separated, washed, dried, and torn
• 2 heads baby red leaf lettuce, leaves separated, washed, dried, and torn
• 1 head baby radicchio, leaves separated
• 1 cup Tomato Concasse (recipe follows below)
• 1 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows below)
• 1 cup Jalapeno-Cilantro-Lime Salsa (recipe follows below)
• 1 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped

Preheat the grill or broiler.
With your finger, gently make a pocket between the skin and meat of each chicken breast, inserting your finger along the long side of each breast and leaving the skin attached along the other edges. Insert the medallions of goat cheese, overlapping slightly, inside the pockets to stuff the chicken breasts. Sprinkle the breasts with salt and pepper.

Brush the pepper strips and onion slices with the olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. Set them aside.

Grill the chicken breasts, skin side up first, until nicely browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Then turn them over and grill for 5 to 7 minutes more.

About 1 minute before the chicken is done, place the peppers and onion slices on the grill; grill them about 30 seconds per side, until heated through and lightly charred.

Arrange all the salad leaves on 6 large serving plates.
Cut each grilled breast crosswise into 4 or 5 slices and place in the center of a bed of greens. Garnish each plate with 3 spoonfuls of tomato concasse and the grilled peppers and onions. Dress the vegetables with vinaigrette. Spoon the salsa over the chicken. Sprinkle each serving with chopped chives.

TOMATO CONCASSE (for about 2 cups)
• 4 medium-size tomatoes (red or yellow)
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup sherry wine vinegar
• ½ medium-size shallot, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons julienne of fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and prepare a large bowl filled with water and ice cubes.

With a small, sharp knife, cut out the stem ends and cores of the tomatoes; cut a shallow X on the bottom of each tomato. Boil the tomatoes until their skins are loose, about 40 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer them to the ice-water bath.

After about 1 minute, remove the tomatoes from the ice water and peel off their skins. Cut them in half through their stem ends. Remove their seeds with your finger, then cut the flesh of the tomatoes into ¼- inch dice.

Put the diced tomato in a bowl with the olive oil, vinegar, shallot, and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE (for 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Fresh lime juice
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Put the vinegar in a mixing bowl and, whisking continuously, gradually pour in the olive oil. Season to taste with a little lime juice, salt, and pepper.

JALAPENO-CILANTRO-LIME SALSA
(for about 1 cup)
• 2 jalapeno peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 2 limes, cut in half

In a bowl, stir together the jalapenos, cilantro, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper
Just before serving, squeeze the limes into the mixture and stir well. (The lime juice will turn the cilantro brown if added any earlier.)

Wine suggestion
This is a dish for young wines; it brings out their fruit. Try a sauvignon or fume blanc with lots of oak and fruit, such as Grgich Hills or Chateau St. Jean. Chardonnays would be perfectly okay. The dish would kill most european wines, except for red burgundies; a young pinot noir, cooled down, would be fine.

GRILLED SCALLOPS WITH WATERCRESS-LIME BEURRE BLANC
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FRESH SCALLOPS are one of my favorite charbroiled items, and they’re great when combined with a Beurre Blanc full of chopped dark green watercress and heavily accented with lime juice. I use only giant sea scallops, about an inch across and ¾ inch thick- they’re plumper and sweeter.

I add three raspberries to each plate before serving, a funny old holdover from the days of nouvelle cuisine. They give an extra contrast of color, and the fruit plays off the sweetness of the scallops.

For 6 Servings
• 2 ¼ cups Beurre Blanc (see recipe below)
• 2 bunches watercress, leaves finely chopped, stems discarded
• 3 limes, juiced
• 30 large sea scallops
• 6 tablespoons clarified butter (see recipe below)
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 18 fresh raspberries
• Vegetable Mosaics (see recipe below)

Preheat the grill or broiler.
Prepare the beurre blanc and, as soon as it is finished, stir in the chopped watercress leaves and lime juice. Keep the sauce warm.
Brush the scallops with the butter and season with salt and pepper. Grill them about 1 minute per side, until firm but still moist and slightly pink inside; halfway through the cooking on each side, rotate the scallops 90 degrees to give them crosshatched grill marks.

Spoon the sauce across the bottom half of heated serving plates prepared with vegetable mosaic garnishes. Place 5 scallops, slightly overlapping, on top of the sauce on each plate. Place 3 raspberries around the inner rim of each plate near the scallops.

BEURRE BLANC (for about 2 cups)
• ½ cup champagne vinegar
• 1 cup California Chardonnay
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper

THIS is one of the classic sauces of the French kitchen, adapted here with the addition of California Chardonnay.
Since beurre blanc is, like mayonnaise, an emulsion-in this case, a thick but delicate blend of butter, wine, and vinegar-pay careful attention to the constant stirring and the heat, to ensure the sauce doesn’t separate.

For beautiful rose-colored beurre rose, substitute a Sauvignon for the Chardonnay and red wine vinegar for the champagne vinegar.

In a small, heavy, non-aluminum saucepan, boil the vinegar and Chardonnay with the shallots over high heat until only about 1 tablespoon of the liquid is left, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the cream with a whisk and continue cooking for about 1 minute. Then reduce the heat to medium and, whisking constantly, add the butter a few cubes at a time, adding more butter as each new addition melts and blends into the sauce. . If the sauce begins to simmer, lift it from the heat. When all the butter has been incorporated, whisk in the lemon juice and season to taste.
To keep the beurre blanc warm, set the saucepan inside a bowl or larger pan of hot but not boiling water.

CLARIFIED BUTTER
(For about ¾ cup)

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes

BUTTER Clarified of its milk solids has a lightness and purity of taste, and can be heated to a higher temperature without burning than straight butter. Though you can use plain melted butter in any recipe, clarified butter simply gives better results.
The clarified butter can be stored, covered, for up to a week in the refrigerator.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium to low heat.
When all the butter is melted, use a spoon to skim off the froth from the top. Then carefully and gently pour off the clear butter into a bowl, stopping before any of the milky solids on the bottom leave the pan. Discard the solids.

VEGETABLE MOSAICS
• 6 baby zucchini, with blossoms if available
• 6 baby yellow squash, with blossoms if available
• 6 baby acorn squash, with blossoms if available
• 6 baby carrots, peeled
• 6 large broccoli florets
• 3 to 4 dozen small snow pea pods, trimmed
• 4 baby turnips, peeled, stems trimmed down to ¼ inch, each turnip cut into 6 wedges
• 4 baby beets, peeled, stems trimmed down to ¼ inch, each beet cut into 6    wedges
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
• ¼ teaspoon sesame oil

If the zucchini, yellow squash, or acorn squash still have nice blossoms attached, leave them whole. With a mandoline (a hand-operated slicing device) or a small, sharp knife, cut the other squash and the carrots at a 45-degree angle into wafer-thin slices- about 1/16 inch thick.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. One variety at a time, blanch the vegetables until cooked al dente- about 3 minutes for broccoli florets, 1 ½ to 2 minutes for snow peas or turnips, 1 minute for sliced carrots and whole baby zucchini or squash, 15 to 30 seconds for sliced zucchini or squash. Cook any beets last, for 5 to 6 minutes, so they don’t discolor the other vegetables.
Distribute the butter between 3 small skillets or saucepans (4 if you’re including beets). Put the carrots into one pan with the Grand Marnier; put the broccoli in another with the sesame oil; put beets in a third; and put the remaining vegetables in the fourth pan. Toss the vegetables with the butter over low heat for about 30 seconds, just until heated through, and season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the sliced vegetables and the snow peas in neat overlapping patterns, starting at one point on the top left-hand side of the plate and fanning wider as the design moves toward the right. Place the whole baby vegetables, wedges of turnip or beet, and broccoli florets at the right-hand side of the design.
For main-course vegetable plates, cover the entire plate with a neat symmetrical design of vegetables, placing the larger pieces along the bottom and center vertical third of the plate and fanning the sliced vegetables and snow peas on either side.

Wine suggestion
While you might ordinarily serve a fume blanc with scallops, the richness of the sauce calls for a light-bodied chardonnay, fairly acidic with just a little butteriness to it-such as Smith-Madrone, Iron Horse, or Domaine Michel. These characteristics also apply to classic French chablis.