Cheese Bytes
by Norbert Wabnig

Welcome to "Cheese Bytes" where Norbert chats with some special Cheese Store customers who in turn share some exciting recipes with you!

Cheese Bytes November 2007 - Norbert and Susan Spicer

Norbert: Hi, we’re upstairs at The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills and we have Susan Spicer with us. Hello Susan.

Susan: Hello Norbert. It’s been many, many years.

Norbert: How many years?...

Susan: We decided we wouldn’t say.

Norbert: Susan is here signing books. She now has a new one called “Crescent City Cooking.” Tell us a little bit about it.

Susan: Ok. Well, "Crescent City Cooking, Unforgettable Recipes From Susan Spicer’s New Orleans" is sort of the culmination of my 29 years of cooking professionally, and it contains family recipes, it contains the signature recipes of my two restaurants, Bayona and Herbsaint in New Orleans, as well as other things I learned along the way cooking with other people and at some of the other restaurants I worked at while I was learning.

Norbert: What are some of those influences?

Susan: Well I am a product of a father from Georgia, and a mother from Denmark, so we grew up eating a lot so different kinds of food in my household. My mom is a great cook. Right before we moved to New Orleans, we lived in Holland, so she learned some of the indigenous dishes that were popular over there, and I trained with French chefs, and grew up in New Orleans. So it’s New Orleans from a global perspective I suppose you would say.

Norbert: Well, New Orleans is sort of a global perspective...

Susan: It is. The Creole cuisine is a blend of French, Spanish, West Indian and all that, and we have a big Vietnamese population in New Orleans now, so really there are a lot of influences and factors, and of course, that’s all on top of having the great seafood: oysters, crawfish, shrimp, and all that. My style is probably using traditional ingredients in non-traditional ways.

Norbert: Susan and I actually grew up together in New Orleans, went to school at LSUNO. You know that I have to say that New Orleans has the best kitchens, the best restaurants in the United States. Hate to say that, being here in LA...

Susan: Well, it’s a very strong and indigenous cuisine.

Norbert: Right.. And the influences are incredible: the Italian, the Spanish, the French, and its own sort of Creole thing. What are some of your favorite dishes in the book?

Susan: Well...

Norbert: Signature dishes...

Susan: Well signature for the restaurant. One of the ones I like the most is a goat cheese crouton with mushrooms and Madera cream. I use a fresh goat cheese, mixed with a tiny bit of butter, spread on a piece of multigrain bread and we trim the crust on that, pop it into the broiler at the last minute till it’s really bubbly and brown. I serve that with oysters and shiitake mushrooms, and when I can get some chanterelles we throw those in too...but the mushrooms are sautéed until they are sort of crispy and a nice rich brown. Then we put garlic, shallots, Madeira, kind of a medium dry Madeira, in a pan, the Madeira sort of reduces and the mushrooms absorb it, and you hit it with a little bit of cream at the last minute. Then pour that over the toasted goat cheese, and it’s one that you can prepare in a lot of different stages. You can prepare almost all of it ahead of time, then put it all together at the last minute, so it’s great for entertaining.

Norbert: Sounds great. What did you make for us here today? That was incredible.

Susan: Thank you. That was a little goat cheese mixed with some fresh herbs and garlic confit, and then spread on a crouton with a little roasted tomato compote.

Norbert: Where are you getting your goat cheese from?

Susan: We buy Judy Schad’s Capriole goat cheese that’s from right outside Louisville, Kentucky. She’s actually in Indiana. So we buy her fresh goat cheese. We use that for several different dishes, and we buy some of her aged goat cheese like the Wabash Cannonball and her old Kentucky Tomme.

Norbert: Is cheese beginning to play more of a role in your cooking and in the cuisine in general in New Orleans?

Susan: Well, I think with my Danish background, I’ve always been a cheese and dairy lover, and so, yeah, I would say we incorporate a lot of different kinds. Some of the ones I keep on hand for cooking are Comté , which as you know, is like a French version of Gruyère. Also the Sottocenare, the lovely Italian truffle cheese...melts beautifully, it’s a good eating cheese, but it’s a wonderful cooking cheese also.

Norbert: “Beneath the ashes” is what it means.

Susan: Yes. And we do an Artisanal cheese plate which has really gained in popularity, you know, I would say, even in the last couple of years. We’re seeing more and more people who are ordering it. But we also just cook with a lot of cheese.

Norbert: Good. Keep doing that!

Susan: I shall. I intend to.

Norbert: Well Susan, it’s been a pleasure. I hope you had a good time here at the store.

Susan: I did.

Norbert: Come back soon.

Susan: I met some wonderful, interesting people.

Norbert: Yes, some interesting people....name a couple.

Susan: Albert Fischer; Abe [Laborial], the drummer for Paul McCartney; Todd, the fromager from Comme Ça...

Norbert: ...and Wolfgang Puck came by to say hi to you.

Susan: Yes.

Norbert: Couple people might recognize his name out there. Anyways, it was a pleasure seeing you after all of these years...

Susan: Yes, I think that I’m just going to come and hang out here in your store now every time I come out to Los Angeles.

Norbert: As you should.

Susan: I expect you to open bottles of wine, and feed me cheese.

Norbert: Well, that’s what we do.

Susan: Cheeses and sandwiches and things...good, I’ll be back!

Norbert: Thanks!

Previous Cheese Bytes interviews:

Read First Annual American Artisanal Treasure Awards

Read Norbert's interview with Celestino Drago, of Drago, Il Pastaio, and the new Dolce Forno bakery in Los Angeles.

Read Norbert's interview with Giacomino Drago, partner in Il Pastaio, Piccolo Paradiso and Il Buco restaurants in Los Angeles.

Read Norbert's interview with chef Jennifer Naylor, of Granita in Malibu where she cooks California Mediterranean with an Italian influence.

Don't miss Tony's Wine Corner for Tony Princiotta's wine reviews.