The Courage of His Confections
If it's proof you need that restaurants are important, consider the elaborate and erudite cooking of Charlie Trotter, the 35-year-old chef and owner of Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago.
Who but the master of his domain, laboring with a staff of 17 in a spotless, state-of-the-art kitchen, would dare to saute a single duck liver, balance it on a tower of wilted mustard greens and drizzle it with a teaspoon of beet juice?
I know of no other chef like Charlie Trotter. The complexity of his recipes pushes the outer limits of culinary sanity. But more often than not, they are ingenious and, as witnessed in the lavish book "Charlie Trotter's," published last year by Ten Speed Press, invariably beautiful.
A native of Chicago's North Shore, Trotter majored in political science at the University of Wisconsin before kitchen stints in Chicago, San Francisco and Florida, and extensive eating in Europe. Along the way, he began catering elaborate dinner parties, the perfect forum in which to hone his culinary philosophy.
Trotter believes in serving a succession of small, ornate dishes (constructions really), each no more than a taste, one more complex than the next.  He'll stuff rabbit rillette, for example, into tiny columns of phyllo dough. Then he'll fry them, cut them like Vietnamese spring rolls and mount them like tiny rock pilings in a sea of oranges, black olives and reduced rabbit broth. His "lasagna" of braised turnips and rabbit is built like a shingled pagoda, floating on a sauce of sweet peas.
While Trotter's technique is indisputably French, butter and cream are not necessarily the cornerstones of his cooking. When Trotter layers scallops with pickled lamb's tongue, it's the truffled celery broth, not butter, that holds the dish together. Similarly, it's the simple tomato water in a dish of salmon, truffled artichokes and seared foie gras that mitigates all the richness.
It stands to reason that a squab salad with white truffle oil, pigs' feet, foie gras and 50-year-old balsamic vinegar is not exactly budget cooking. And don't expect his truffled lamb tartar with chanterelles and watercress oil to be a meal-in-a-minute. But for those cooks who yearn to straddle the line between cooking and fine art, Trotter's food is an inspiring blueprint.
The following recipes are some of Trotter's simpler ones adapted for home use. Each yields a portion the size of an appetizer and should therefore be increased if the cook wants to reap a meal from all the effort involved.
While poached salmon on lobster potatoes is a delicious dish, we suggest buying a duck-and-veal demi-glace from the source listed below rather than spend 12 hours making the 1/2 cup of veal glace that is called for.
As a fellow Midwesterner, I find it difficult not to applaud Trotter's patience and dedication to finesse. Also, as a fellow Midwesterner, I'm happy it's Trotter who's doing the cooking. Caramelized Salsify, Spatzle and Roasted Vegetable Broth The broth:  3 medium onions  2 carrots  1 rutabaga  2 parsnips  1 fennel bulb  2 tablespoons canola oil  1/2 teaspoon kosher salt  Freshly ground pepper to taste  3 sprigs fresh thyme The salsify:  4 stalks salsify, peeled and halved crosswise  1 quart milk  1 tablespoon unsalted butter  Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste The spatzle:  1/2 cup milk  3 eggs, lightly beaten  2 tablespoons coarse Dijon mustard  2 teaspoons kosher salt  1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper  2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour  2 teaspoons unsalted butter.
1. For broth, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Peel and dice vegetables and place in a large roasting pan or 2 pans to avoid overcrowding. Toss with the oil. Roast until browned, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a large pot and add 4 cups of water. Place over medium heat and simmer until broth is reduced to 2 cups, about 30 minutes. Strain and stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, pepper and thyme. Set aside.
2. Place salsify and milk in a large pot over medium heat. Simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Cut in half lengthwise and then across into 2-inch pieces. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the salsify and cook until it turns light brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. For spatzle, whisk together the milk, eggs, mustard, salt and pepper. Add flour and stir until smooth. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place a one-sided grater with large holes over the pot and press the spatzle mixture through the holes, letting it drop into the pot. Cook until spatzle rises to the top, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain.
4. To serve, reheat broth and salsify. Melt 2 teaspoons of butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add spatzle and toss until heated through. Divide salsify among 4 bowls and top with spatzle. Remove thyme from broth and ladle into the bowls. Serve immediately.
Yield: Four servings.  Quail With Grits, Apple and Celery Root The quail:  4 quails  1/4 cup plus 5 teaspoons olive oil  8 sprigs fresh thyme  1 small onion, peeled and diced  1 rib celery, diced  1 carrot, peeled and diced  1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste  Freshly ground pepper to taste The grits:  1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter  1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped  1 clove garlic, peeled and minced  1/2 cup instant grits  1/2 cup diced celery root  1 small apple, peeled, cored and diced small  1 teaspoon kosher salt  Freshly ground pepper to taste.
1. Remove breasts from quails and place in a bowl with 1/4 cup oil and thyme. Chill for several hours. Separate legs and wings from carcasses. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add legs, wings and carcasses and brown, about 5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon oil and onion, celery and carrot and saute until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Skim, reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. Strain, discard solids and stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. For grits, melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add shallot and garlic and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add 1 1/4 cups water and bring to a boil. Stir in grits, lower heat and cook, stirring often, until thick, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add quail breasts skin side down and saute until golden brown and slightly pink in the center, about 1 minute per side. Remove from skillet, season with salt and pepper and keep warm. Add celery root and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the apple and cook for 1 minute. Stir in grits, 1/2 cup quail broth, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper.
4. Divide grits among 4 plates. Top with breasts and drizzle with broth. Serve immediately.
Yield: Four servings. Poached Salmon With Lobster Potatoes And Veal Glace  1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter  1 head garlic, halved  1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped  1 fennel bulb, coarsely chopped  1 leek, coarsely chopped  1 orange, coarsely chopped  1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped  2 cups chardonnay  4 bay leaves  Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste  1large Idaho potato, unpeeled  2 tablespoons creme fraiche or heavy cream  2/3 cup cooked, chopped lobster meat  2 tablespoons cooked diced bacon
2 teaspoons chopped Italian parsley  4 3-ounce skinless salmon fillets  1/2 cup veal glace or duck-and-veal demi-glace (see note)  2 teaspoons finely julienned tarragon.
1. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add garlic, onion, fennel, leek, orange and bell pepper and sweat until soft. Add wine, 3 cups of water and bay leaves and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain, discard the solids and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Boil the potato until soft and pass through a food mill. While still hot, whisk in 6 tablespoons of butter, bit by bit, allowing each to melt before adding the next. Whisk in the creme fraiche, then fold in the lobster, bacon and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm in a double boiler, for no more than 15 minutes.
3. Heat the broth to a simmer in a pan that will allow the salmon to be completely submerged. Poach until medium rare, about 3 minutes, turning once. Remove from broth and season lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the veal glace.
4. Place a large dollop of lobster potatoes in the center of each plate and top with salmon. Drizzle glace around potatoes and garnish salmon with tarragon. Serve immediately.
Yield: Four servings.
Note: Duck-and-veal demi-glace is available through mail order by calling (800)-DARTAGNAN. Roasted Tomatoes Stuffed With Couscous, Chanterelles And Pine Nuts  9 small ripe tomatoes  2 tablespoons olive oil  8 garlic cloves  8 sprigs thyme  8 sprigs tarragon, plus 1 teaspoon minced
8 bay leaves  8 basil leaves  1 cup cooked couscous  8 chanterelle mushrooms, quartered and sauteed  1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts  1 tablespoon peeled and finely diced cucumber  1 tablespoon corn kernels, sauteed  1 teaspoon chopped chives, plus 16 whole chives  1 teaspoon chopped mint.
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Peel tomatoes. Mince one tomato and set aside. Cut a 3/4-inch slice from the bottom of the others, reserving these pieces to serve as lids. Scoop out seeds and center flesh. Rub the insides with 1 tablespoon of olive oil; place a garlic clove, a sprig of thyme, a sprig of tarragon, a bay leaf and a basil leaf into each. Put the lids on and bake until they begin to soften, but still maintain their shape, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and discard garlic and herbs.
2. In a double boiler, warm the couscous. Add the minced tomato, chanterelles, pine nuts, cucumber and corn and stir. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, the chopped chives, the minced tarragon and mint and stir. Spoon into the tomatoes, reheat in the oven and serve two to a plate garnished with whole chives.
Yield: Four servings.