My favorite recipes

Leo and Terri Haas have recently opened the Snake River Bar and Grill at Boyer Park on the Snake River, a favorite destination of many fishermen, boaters, campers and people out for a drive.

Leo took the long way to Whitman County. He was born in Mattighofen, a small town in upper Austria, a 30-minute drive outside of Salzburg, cultural center of Austria and home to internationally known music festivals. Mattighofen is an agricultural community and the perfect place for a chef to grow up. With cold rivers, mountains and ample meat and produce from local farms, it is a food bonanza.

After finishing school at 16, Leo went to culinary school and earned a bachelor’s degree at 19. The bachelor’s degree is essential for working abroad and required in order to be hired in the United States. He trained with world-renowned chefs in Austrian hotels and restaurants. Showing willingness to work long hours and perform difficult tasks is essential for placement in the most interesting jobs.

Terri Haas was born in Reno, Nev. A graduate of the University of Nevada, she also graduated from the California Culinary Academy. Her experiences in the food and service industry include restaurant and hotel management, wine and food pairing, training staff, accounting and interior decorating. This combination of skills has contributed tremendously to the success of their culinary lives.

Leo’s mother and grandmother were both wonderful cooks. They enjoyed apple strudel on Fridays, and gulash and dumplings and wiener schnitzel for a special Sunday luncheon.

At about the age of eight, Leo discovered that he would like to be a chef. His father was an electrician and his mother helped with the business and also ran a small grocery store. His twin brother was interested in being an electrician, while Leo hung out with his mother’s brother, the uncle who owned a butcher shop and restaurant in town.

When school was dismissed in the late afternoon, Leo threw his school books into his dad’s shop and ran across the street to see his uncle. He might be butchering, slaughtering a cow, feeding the pigs or cleaning their stalls. This is where Leo first learned how to butcher, and he was fascinated by it.

The idea of butchering and cutting up the meat, processing it into cured, smoked foods and seeing the cut steaks and roasts being cooked in the restaurant was absolutely fascinating for the youngster.

He decided to start his professional culinary adventure at Fremdenverkehrsfachschule Zell am Ziller, a hotel and tourism culinary college in Tirol, Austria. The three-year program scheduled nine months of school and three months of practical training each year.

Leo began with three months of practical training as a waiter in a town restaurant in Salzburg. Part of his job was carrying oversized serving trays up three flights of stairs, heavily loaded with plates for the eager customers. He carved Chateau Briand at tableside, prepared flambe dishes, and, of course, cleaned the restaurant after evening shift to the owner’s satisfaction.

After his second year, he worked for a prestigious hotel in Salzburg, Oesterreicherischer Hof, now known as Hotel Sacher, which is world famous for the creation of the Sacher Torte. He started his training with peeling onions, garlic, and potatoes, plucking pheasant feathers, and cracking shellfish, and separating the stems from spinach leaves. The leaves were used in the restaurant, and the stems were ground up to make creamed spinach for staff meals.

When the Executive Chef and Chef de Partie saw his willingness to work and his dedication to his career, they moved him up the ladder and behind a stove. Although it required sweat, burns, a few knife slashes and even longer hours, he was learning rapidly and was cooking with chefs. They accepted him into their clique and he was even invited to join them for beers after the dinner shift. He was playing a small part in a busy a la carte restaurant shift, the pressure was on, and he loved it!

In Leo’s third year, his practical training took him to Hotel Schloss Fuschl, another very prestigious hotel in the Salzburg area. It was built as a castle for the archbishops of Salzburg in 1450 and situated idyllically on the edge of Lake Fuschl. The executive chef of the hotel became his mentor and helped him develop his international culinary career.

In 1985, Leo joined the opening team of the Sheraton Hotel in Salzburg. He continued with international hotel corporations for the next ten years. In 1991, he was knighted to Chef de Rotisseur, the oldest chef guild in the world, the Confrerie de la Chaine de Rostisseurs.

A lover of ethnic foods, Leo has worked in Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Greece and Israel. Continuing education for chefs is working and collaborating with other skilled chefs in other countries.

While working for international hotel corporations, which offer one-year contracts and the opportunity to see the world, Leo worked in Norway, Dubai, Africa, Guam and Thailand. He has also taken culinary field trips to Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Bali, Manila and Tokyo.

While on Guam, Leo and Terri opened Melanzane, a Mediterranean fine dining restaurant, which combined their love for Mediterranean food and style. After many years of island life, they decided to move to the United States and start their new culinary adventures in Washington state.

In 1996, they opened Restaurant Osterreich (Austria), an award-winning European and specialty fine dining restaurant in Leavenworth, a beautiful Bavarian-style village. This also led to their owning and operating their highly successful catering company, Cascade Catering, which served the greater Wenatchee Valley and beyond.

They won awards and comments for their winemaker’s dinners, and their restaurant was featured in food and travel magazines. Leo became a naturalized United States citizen during this time.

The amount of snow in winter at Boyer compared to that in Leavenworth has drawn Terri and Leo to Whitman County, and they have remodeled and redecorated the restaurant there and are now open for business.

The Snake River Bar and Grill is open Tuesday through Sunday, beginning with lunch at 11 a.m., and closing at 7 in the evening, depending on the crowd. Leo and Terri have a Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with lunch available. The brunch features breakfast breads, granola-yogurt parfaits, salads, New York loin strip roast, potatoes, chicken and a variety of desserts.

Recipes:

Herb-crusted Rack of Lamb with Blackberry Syrah Reduction

Rack of Lamb:

2 each-8 rib Frenched lamb racks

2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves

2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary needles

2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons peeled and finely chopped garlic cloves

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

14 teaspoon coarse ground black peppercorns (1/8 teaspoon per rack)

For the Blackberry Syrah Reduction:

2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries

3 Tablespoons honey

1 1/2 cups Syrah

1 Tablespoon sherry vinegar

4 Tablespoons blackberry preserves

1 cup blackberry concentrate

Rack of Lamb:

Place the lamb racks on a work surface, remove excess fat from the rib part, then remove fat, silver skin, and chain from the loin. With a sharp knife, score the remaining fat part into x’s.

Place clean lamb racks into a 2-inch deep glass dish and season with coarse black pepper, garlic, and finely chopped herbs. Press them onto the lamb racks to coat. Add extra virgin olive oil and coat entire rack. Cover well and refrigerate overnight to marinate.

Remove the lamb racks from the refrigerator and season with salt and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Over medium-high heat, bring a 12-inch skillet to temperature. Place the lamb racks fat side down into pan and brown for about 3 minutes and some of the fat is rendered, turn racks over and brown on bottom side for an additional 1 1/2 minutes. Place skillet into the preheated oven, roast for 10 to 12 minutes for medium rare. Remove from oven and allow the racks to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes.

Blackberry Syrah reduction:

Place the berries, honey, Syrah, blackberry concentrate, and sherry vinegar in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, slowly cook the berries, reducing the liquid for about 10 minutes. Add 4 Tablespoons blackberry preserves and stir well. Continue to simmer for 3 more minutes. If sauce seems to be too thick, just add a little more Syrah.

Remove from heat, set aside to cool to room temperature. When cool, puree in a blender until smooth, strain through a fine sieve, and place in a squeeze bottle. Keep in a warm water bath until ready to use, or refrigerate.

Chef Leo pairs the lamb and reduction with Yukon gold potato and gorgonzola gratin and zucchini tart, which are available in his cookbook on DVD, “Seasoned: In Leavenworth, Washington.”

Tiramisu

2 1/2 cups mascarpone (1 1/2 pounds)

1/2 cup chilled heavy cream

3 large eggs, separated

4 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon microplane-grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 Tablespoons good-quality cognac

24 lady fingers

2 cups very strong brewed coffee or fresh brewed espresso at room temperature

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar at medium speed until thick and pale (about 4 minutes).

On low speed, blend in the lemon zest, vanilla extract, and the mascarpone until combined.

Using a clean, grease-free bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt with a clean whisk until they just hold a soft peak. Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar and continue to beat the egg whites until you see firm peaks. Careful not to overbeat the whites!

Now, using a third bowl with once again clean whisks, beat the heavy cream until it just holds soft peaks. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to combine, then slowly fold in the whipped egg whites.

Using a shallow dish, stir together the cognac and coffee. Dipping one ladyfinger at a time into the coffee mixture, allowing the ladyfinger to soak for about 3 seconds each side, then transfer to an 8-inch square glass dish.

Repeat with 11 more ladyfingers and arrange them side by side in the bottom of the dish, trimming if needed to fit snugly, giving a total of 12 lady fingers for the bottom layer. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture evenly over the lady fingers. Arrange another layer of the remaining ladyfingers on top of the mascarpone mixture, then again top with the remaining mascarpone mixture.

Cover and refrigerate the Tiramisu for at least 6 hours or overnight. Just before serving, dust generously with cocoa powder. If you like, you can garnish each serving of tiramisu with a chocolate-covered espresso bean or some shavings of good-quality bittersweet chocolate.

Viennese Apple Strudel

Dough ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 large egg

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons canola oil plus 1 teaspoon canola to cover the dough while resting

1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons warm water (105-115 degrees F)

melted unsalted butter for brushing the dough

Filling ingredients:

3 pounds Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

1/3 cup raisins

4 Tablespoons dark frum

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon coarsely ground walnuts

In addition:

6 ounces unsalted butter

3/4 cups Panko (Japanese style bread crumbs)

All purpose flour to sprinkle the cloth

confectioners’ sugar for dusting the strudel

3 cups vanilla sauce (see Basics)

For Garnish:

fresh mint sprigs (one per strudel)

heavy whipping cream (about 1 Tablespoon for each strudel)

1 slice apple chip (for each strudel), see Basics

Beat egg in a small bowl. Place the flour into a Kitchen Aid bowl, add beaten egg, then salt and oil. Start kneading the dough on low speed and gradually add the water on medium speed and knead the dough until it forms a medium-size ball and has a silky sheen. Remove the dough, place on a lightly floured work surface, continue to knead by hand until the dough is smooth and supple. Now, form a ball and place the strudel dough ball onto a plate, drizzle the oil over the dough to cover top, bottom, and sides.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 45 minutes.

How to stretch the dough: The trick really is to have a square table, about 2 feet by 2 feet, because that is how thin you will be able to stretch the dough. If unavailable, your kitchen table will work just as well. You need a clean tablecloth, white preferred, which will stain a bit from the dough. The cloth helps to prevent the dough from sticking and is handy for rolling ingredients into the dough.

Lightly dust the cloth with flour, place the strudel dough ball onto the cloth, and with a rolling pin, roll the dough out gently from the center equally, into about a 1/4 inch thick square, applying a little more pressure to the ends. Now, using your hands, place the backs of your hands under the dough and carefully lift and stretch the dough, starting with one corner of your work surface until it hangs over. You can alternate by turning your hands around and carefully stretch the dough with your fingertips, repeat this process on all four sides of the table.

Immediately brush the dough with melted butter. It is now ready for the filling.

While the strudel dough is resting, prepare the filling:

Rinse the raisins in hot water and pat dry with a kitchen paper towel. Place the raisins into a small bowl and drizzle the rum over them, cover with plastic, and allow the raisins to steep for 20 minutes.

Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and ground walnuts, drained raisins, and combine all ingredients well. Set aside.

The fun begins—rolling the strudel:

The dough is resting on the large cloth on the table or kitchen counter. Cut off any of the thicker side edges of the dough, if necessary.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet, greasing it lightly with a little melted butter; make sure the strudel will fit. If not, you might have to cut and seal the strudel by cutting it in half so it will fit the sheet, giving you two strudels. If this is necessary, please make absolutely sure the ends are sealed and folded in tightly so none of the apple filling can escape.

Over low heat in a small saucepan, melt the butter.

Prepare the Strudel dough for the filling:

Using a pastry brush, brush all of the strudel surface with about half of the melted butter. Then equally sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of the dough. Cover two-thirds of the dough with the apple filling, and using your fingers at first, wrap the dough around the apple filling, just one turn along the whole length of the strudel.

Now using the cloth, gently roll the dough over the apple filling (jelly-roll like fashion), stopping from time to time to ensure the strudel rolls up equally and tight. Fold in the ends to seal the strudel. You can use the cloth to transfer the strudel to the baking sheet, or carefully lift the strudel upwards with one hand on one end and place your forearm underneath the strudel with your other hand, lifting it to place the strudel on the baking sheet.

Brush the strudel with melted butter to coat.

Bake the strudel in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees F, to a golden brown. Brush occasionally with melted butter. Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cutting.

Slice the strudel in 1 1/2 to 2-inch pieces. Pour a little warm vanilla sauce onto center of the plate, place the apple strudel on top of the sauce, dust with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with fresh mint and the apple chip. Serve at once. Strudel can be served warm or cold.

Leftover dough can be discarded or used to make additional strudels.