Wisconsin Foodie

– Luke Zahm: This week on Wisconsin Foodie: - James Lohmiller: Back in winter, when they announced Top Chef season 22, Kat Turner was evolving.

Kat is originally from Door County.

So, I reached out to her back in March, and we wanted to put together a dinner.

And she's like, "You know what?

I've got friends also."

– Kat Turner: To be able to come home and cook not only myself, but with, you know, my three amazing friends that I made on Top Chef, it's an extremely unique and kind of humbling experience.

– James: Welcome to the first annual Dinner at the DRR.

And we could not be more delighted than to be joined by these four incredible chefs from season 22 of Top Chef.

First of all, Chef Kat Turner, our own Door County star, is here this evening.

[cheers and applause] A welcome home to Kat.

[cheers and applause] - Luke: Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank the following underwriters.

- The dairy farmers of Wisconsin are proud to underwrite Wisconsin Foodie and remind you that, in Wisconsin, we dream in cheese.

[group cheers] Just look for our badge.

It's on everything we make.

- Did you know Organic Valley protects over 400,000 acres of organic farmland?

So, are we an organic food cooperative that protects land, or land conservationists who make delicious food?

Yes; yes, we are.

Organic Valley.

- Our all-natural roll recipe has been around since 1830.

No binders or fillers.

Just pork, salt, and a savory blend of spices that we make ourselves.

Jones: Making breakfast better since 1889.

- The Wisconsin potato and vegetable growers are proud underwriters of Wisconsin Foodie.

It takes love of the land and generations of farming know-how to nurture a quality potato crop.

Ask any potato farmer and they'll tell you, there's a lot of satisfaction in healthy-grown crops.

- Employee-owned New Glarus Brewing Company has been brewing and bottling beer for their friends, only in Wisconsin, since 1993.

Just a short drive from Madison, come visit Swissconsin and see where your beer's made.

- With additional support coming from The Conscious Carnivore.

From local animal sourcing to on-site, high-quality butchering and packaging, The Conscious Carnivore can ensure organically raised, grass-fed, and healthy meats through its small group of local farmers.

The Conscious Carnivore: Know your farmer, love your butcher.

Also with the support of The Friends of PBS Wisconsin [upbeat music] - Luke: We are a collection of the finest farmers, food producers, and chefs on the planet.

We are a merging of cultures and ideas, shaped by this land.

[brats sizzle] We are a gathering of the waters, and together, we shape a new identity to carry us into the future.

[glasses clink] We are storytellers.

We are Wisconsin Foodie.

[groovy music] The DRR Hotel in Sister Bay is hosting a special dinner featuring Sturgeon Bay's own Kat Turner.

Today, we follow Chef Turner into the farms and food producers of Door County, where she has returned for a weekend of cooking with her newly minted friends in her old stomping grounds.

Chef Kat is the executive chef and partner of the Los Angeles-based restaurant Highly Likely and recently appeared on Bravo's Top Chef, where she referenced her time in Wisconsin as being fundamental to her cooking style.

[cheers and applause] - Kat: It's always amazing to come home.

I absolutely love the opportunity to get out of Los Angeles.

I've never done anything like this before.

I've never cooked-- I've never cooked a dinner for people outside of my family here, so to be able to come home and cook not only myself but with, you know, my three amazing friends that I made on Top Chef, it's an extremely unique and kind of humbling experience.

We are going to a couple spots to get cherries.

The first spot that we're going to is called EverlastingEats, and I had their cherries.

A couple months ago, they sent some to me.

And they're freeze-dried, so they're that really, like, concentrated tart cherry flavor, but, like, explosively crispy, which, you know, I'd never had anything like that in my life.

So, I'm gonna be incorporating that into the dessert I'm making.

And then we're gonna go old school.

We're gonna go up to Lautenbach's and get some tart cherry juice.

And that's one of the biggest tart cherry growers in the region.

Now we are off to... W-D-O-R That is the local radio station that I've been listening to my entire life.

And we're gonna do a little interview with them.

No, it's a big deal.

It's a small community.

And I think sometimes that level of recognition just has more of an impact.

It just feels really special.

– Danny Allen: Welcome back.

And my special guest today is Kat Turner and the... - Kat: Getting a write-up in the LA Times is on par with getting five minutes on the radio on WDOR with me.

– Danny: Chef Kat Turner on WDOR again.

Dinner at the DRR Hotel in Sister Bay coming up Friday and Saturday.

As you mentioned, tickets available at Eventbrite.

Thanks for coming in.

– Kat: Thank you so much, Danny.

It's so fantastic to be back home, not only because I love it here, but to be able to cook this dinner and connect with so many of the producers that I've known throughout the years or known of throughout the years.

I've never cooked a dinner at this scale, so I haven't had an opportunity to kind of connect all the dots, so to speak, so it's a really cool opportunity.

I'm using sumac for one of my dishes, and sumac grows wild all over the county, and so I'm just gonna go cut some off.

So, this is sumac.

It's a really typical spice that is used in the Middle East and through a lot of the Mediterranean regions.

It's got a really tart flavor, almost like lemon or like citric acid.

And these are actually all berries.

Before I can get prepping, we need to stop at a bunch of different spots all over the county.

There are so many great places to get produce and dairy and fish, and so we're gonna make a bunch of little pit stops all over to pick up all those things.

Of all the dinners that I've done over the years, I think this one is kind of the most touching or the most important to me.

I don't think I've really been able to handpick and personally pick up so many of the ingredients that I'm using, so it's really special.

It's very, very cool.

You know, sometimes I actually do fantasize about selling it all off in LA and moving up here and kind of going into hiding and living a much more quiet... Just... I don't know.

I'd probably get weird.

I'd have a garden, I'd dress like a witch.

You know, that kind of thing.

Cool.

Thank you so much.

- Yeah.

- I am ready to cook.

[sighs] [relaxing music] - Chef, it's so nice to meet you.

- So nice to meet you, Luke, thank you.

- Tell me where we're at today because I've never been in here before.

- Well, we are at the illustrious Greystone Castle.

This is a great local bar and restaurant here in Sturgeon Bay.

It's definitely a place that I grew up going to on occasion.

And it is an absolute testimony to all the hunting that you can do in Door County.

Sorry, sorry, PETA.

[Luke laughs] - Luke: I'm starving.

What do you know about, like, the menu here?

- Well, I was actually gonna see if you wanted to split one of the prime rib sandwiches.

– Luke: Yeah.

– Kat: It's-- They're, like, famous for their prime rib sandwich.

– Luke: Okay.

– Kat: It's also a 14 to 16-ounce portion of prime, [laughs] which is like-- This is very typical Midwestern where it's like, "Hi, here's your pound of steak."

They have a 20-- They have a 20-ounce porterhouse on here.

Like, this is-- That is crazy.

Also, a 20-ounce porterhouse in LA would be like $150.

- Exactly.

- It's outrageous.

- It's a bargain price of 42 bucks.

Midwesterners love a deal.

- Yeah, seriously, I know.

- Will you do the honors of ordering for us?

- I'm Amanda, and I'll be helping you.

- Thanks, Amanda.

- What are we gonna get today?

– Kat: Thank you so much.

We're gonna split the prime rib.

- All right, how would you like that cooked today?

– Kat: Medium, please.

- Medium, all right.

I will get that right out for you guys.

- Thank you so much.

– Kat: Thank you.

– Amanda: You're very welcome.

- So you grew up here in Sturgeon Bay?

- I grew up in Sturgeon Bay.

- Okay.

- Yes.

- What was that like?

- It was great.

I think, looking back on it now, I appreciate it in ways that I never understood when I was young.

Living in Los Angeles, to be able to come home to this and to recognize what a gift it was to grow up in not only a small community, but a really, genuinely kind community.

– Luke: Are there pieces of this place, like, in your cuisine?

– Kat: There is an element of simplicity and accessibility and just delicious, comforting food.

It is comfort food.

I look to that when I'm creating dishes.

How is this dish going to make someone feel?

Is this dish gonna make someone feel welcome?

Are they gonna be intrigued by it?

Will they find something familiar in it?

I really want my food-- Even if it's got, you know, twists and turns and little creative elements, at the core of it, I want it to be familiar.

And that is, I think, really what the food of Wisconsin is kind of rooted in.

– Luke: Yeah.

[relaxing music] So, talk me through what you're seeing here.

Like, what's exciting?

- I mean, this giant slab of prime rib.

Like, that's crazy.

– Luke: Yeah.

- It looks great, it's pink.

– Luke: Yep.

– Kat: This jus looks awesome.

– Luke: Look at that drippy boy.

– Kat: Mhm!

– Luke: Simple, no fuss, no muss.

Not an onion to be seen on the sandwich.

No lettuce.

– Kat: No, no garnish.

– Luke: Right.

- Literally no garnish.

It was meat and toast.

– Luke: Meat and toast.

– Kat: As promised!

- Yeah, right?

– Kat: It's a real honor.

I've never cooked here.

Outside of cooking for my own family at my house, I've never cooked a-- I've never cooked a dinner in Door County.

- Well, great.

I am here, I am down to help.

- If you're not busy next couple of days... - Luke: Yeah.

- ...we will be prepping for the dinner.

We can always use an extra set of hands.

– Luke: Sweet.

- You wanna jump in?

– Luke: I would love to.

I'd be honored to help out in any way that I can.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- That would be-- That would be really helpful.

- Great, cool!

- Awesome.

- Well, we'll see how you feel about it after I spend some time in the kitchen.

Like, "This guy is a hack."

[laughs] High five, yeah, good one.

– Kat: Nice one.

– Luke: Yeah.

[bright music] - Kat: All right, so I'll take you through the dishes that we're making.

The first part of the dinner, we're doing, like, a riff on a relish tray.

Each one of us is taking a different component, a different little snack.

Like, a dip or a deviled egg or pickles or something like that.

So, the first dish that I'm putting up is a whitefish taramasalata, which is a type of Greek dip.

It's made with olive oil.

Our beautiful whitefish roe that gets whipped in a blender with olive oil and bread.

Then, with the dip, we are gonna have smoked whitefish, so I've got a bunch of smoked whitefish from Charlie's that's gonna get-- It's gonna have to get picked, flaked.

– Luke: Yep.

- That is the first dish done.

Then, first night, I am only responsible for that dish and dessert.

The dessert is gonna be-- I'm calling it tart cherry meringue.

It's a riff on a lemon meringue pie.

I grew up eating a lot of Jell-O.

– Luke: [laughs] Awesome.

How very Midwestern.

– Kat: But only on special occasion.

We're gonna make a three-layer tart cherry.

It's basically gonna go from, like, a gele to a panna cotta on the base with a center that will be, like, a creamy, tart cherry layer.

– Luke: Nice.

– Kat: That will be piped with a meringue on top that'll get torched.

That comes with a milk crumble.

So, it'll be a crumble that we'll make with milk powder and flour and some sugar and butter.

And then we got the great freeze-dried cherries from EverlastingEats.

- Nice!

- So, those will get dotted in.

And I'm gonna make a sauce as well.

And joining us, illustrious guest chef appearance by my brother-in-law Mike Teich.

Thank you.

He didn't know he was gonna be on camera.

– Mike Teich: Yeah, awesome.

– Kat: Let's get started.

– Luke: All right, one, two, three, go.

Man, this stuff is gorgeous.

I mean, first and foremost, just look at it.

Nice and firm.

You can tell that this obviously spent the most appropriate time in the smoker, but-- [sniffs] It's still-- You can tell that this is a really, really fresh fish.

You know, one of the things that I use to gauge if this is a good piece of smoked fish is, like, how easily this outer layer, the skin peels off.

So, it has this really delicate, subtle flesh on the inside.

You wanna taste it?

– Kat: Oh, my God.

– Luke: Right?

- It's so tender, and it retains so much of its... The texture, it's like, it's flaky, but it's definitely-- It hasn't been over-smoked... - Mm-mm.

- ...which I think is the thing that's the most obvious.

– Mike: Very moist.

– Luke: Yeah.

– Kat: Really moist.

And, yeah, the smoke is delicate.

It's not too salty, like... Smoked fish can really, like-- It can really go too far.

– Luke: Totally.

It'll blow you out.

- Really easily.

- Yeah.

- But I'm impressed at how subtle this is.

– Luke: Mm-hmm.

– Kat: Really lovely.

– Luke: This is very, very subtle and beautiful and should be perfect for the application.

– Kat: Here's the sumac that I picked yesterday.

– Luke: Nice!

– Kat: So, it's pretty amazing.

You can smell it.

It smells like-- It's got that, like, tart berry.

Don't get any of that in your nose.

[Luke laughs] Yeah, oh, that's great.

It's good, it's really tart.

Just the way it should be.

– Luke: Chef Kat, was there a food that you remember or, like, tried that made you fall in love with food and cooking in general?

– Kat: You know, yeah, there are things that I think back to.

Just, like, pan frying fish, going fishing.

Like, going fishing with my dad, going fishing with this guy right here.

Going out, like, absolutely murdering perch.

I mean, like, I can't believe there were any left in the bay.

[Luke laughs] And then cooking, cooking 'em.

You know, my mom would cook 'em up and...delicious.

Like, just seeing, you know, the whole process has always been really inspirational to me.

– Luke: Sure.

– Kat: This is the top layer of my dessert, which is a tart cherry gele, which is just a fancy way of saying Jell-O.

[groovy music] Oh, my God, Chef, thank you so much.

– Luke: Thank you so much, honestly.

- You are amazing.

- What you're doing here, bringing all your talent and technique back home to Wisconsin.

I can't thank you enough as an ambassador of the food scene here.

And good luck, godspeed.

- [laughs] Oh, my God, thank you, Chef.

- You're welcome, you're welcome.

- I mean, the welcome has been extra warm, so I really appreciate you.

- Awesome.

[gentle music] - James: James Lohmiller, general manager, DRR Hotel in Sister Bay, Wisconsin.

This was a project that started in 2017.

We broke ground in December of 2019 and opened in '21, and we wanted to bring this Scandinavian style into modernity.

So, a lot of deep Scandinavian roots here in Door County.

This is just bringing that forward.

You know, our location is brilliant 'cause we're right across from the public beach, so we're in the perfect location in an unbelievable town here in Door County.

Sister Bay has grown leaps and bounds over the years.

It's-- The locals have somehow embraced it because change is very difficult.

But this is a really, really incredible town on this incredible peninsula in what I feel is the best state in all the land.

Back in winter, when they announced Top Chef season 22, Kat Turner was evolving.

Kat is originally from Door County.

So, I reached out to her back in March, and we wanted to put together a dinner, and she's like, "You know what?

I've got friends also."

So, we've got three incredible chefs coming up from Chicago as well.

It's an opportunity for us to showcase Sister Bay.

We have this beautiful property that we wanna utilize.

And so, to invite everybody in and come celebrate with us this weekend, we couldn't be more excited.

So, right now, the chefs are prepping right now, and then we will welcome our guests in at 6:00 for cocktails and then dinner at 7:00 p.m.

under this beautiful tent that we have on our front lawn here at the hotel.

[bright music] We are about a half hour from cocktail time here at Dinner at the DRR, our first annual.

We are getting ready.

It's almost set up.

We're almost there, so we're really pumped.

Chefs are in the back corner.

They're getting all ready as well.

So, it's starting to fill up.

There's a buzz in town.

That's what we like.

Yeah, we're going five courses.

It is family style.

And one of my favorite things that we're doing is starting the dinner off with a relish tray, a classic Wisconsin supper club staple that all the chefs are contributing to.

That's what I'm looking forward to most.

– Zubair Mohajir: This is a mango turmeric black mustard seed achaar.

Achaar is a South Indian pickle, and we make a lot of them at the restaurant.

So, the dips for us today are three different pickles that we make.

- Csar Murillo: Yeah.

– Kat: I love it.

- Csar: This is so good.

– Kat: Oh, my God.

– Bailey Sullivan: Oh, the crunch on that!

– Kat: Yum!

This is a taramasalata.

It's a type of Greek dip.

This is made with the cultured sourdough bread.

So, it's got Henriksen's roe in it.

Then it's topped with the Charlie's smoked whitefish as well.

- Welcome to the first annual Dinner at the DRR, and we could not be more delighted than to be joined by these four incredible chefs from season 22 of Top Chef.

[cheers and applause] My name is James.

I'm the general manager of the DRR Hotel.

First of all, Chef Kat Turner, our own Door County star, is here this evening.

A welcome home to Kat.

[upbeat music] - Guest 1: So, this is not... [upbeat music] - The luxurious creaminess in that roe and the whitefish and the olive oil.

It is like a burst of sunshine in your mouth.

The thing that I'm really, really excited about in this particular dish is getting to see and know the people who actually produced this food and made it possible for this entire experience to exist right in Door County.

This is a global dish that feels like you're eating something from home.

And I can't think of a better compliment to pay to Chef Kat, pulling all these ingredients from Door County into this beautiful bite.

[upbeat music] - Guest 2: Wow, thank you!

[upbeat music] - Bailey: We've got a chilled pasta fredda here.

Ditalini pasta dressed with pepperoncini, charred corn, a little bit of crunchy, fresh cucumber.

We've made a dashi of grilled tomato and fresh peach, a little bit of miso, lemon and lime in there.

And then on top, we have a beautiful blue crab dressed with just a little bit of aioli, chives, and Primolio, my favorite finishing olive oil.

Just a little pinch of urfa to top it off.

– Zubair: This is a Marchant, a butcher that's local.

It's a rib eye.

This is a red rice.

South Indian red rice with garlic, ginger, serranos, a little South Indian curry masala, a little butter, and coconut milk.

– Bailey: Take it, you're good?

Go, go, go.

– Luke: My entire palate is just popping off.

And this is truly one of the most unique and one of the most delicious bites of beef I've ever had the opportunity to try.

[gentle music] - Guest 3: Oh, my God, that's great.

– Guest 4: Yeah.

– Kat: Thank you.

[gentle music] - Luke: Yum!

That panna cotta base.

Like a love letter to our dairy farming community here in Wisconsin.

You've got that mixture of the sweet-tart cherry.

In another layer, you've got the gel with that tart cherry juice.

That crumble brown butter.

You know, or the milk powder dressing, ooh.

But the meringue, like, it has that beautiful pie note.

This is-- This tastes like we're living pretty good up here in Sister Bay.

Well worth it.

[cheers and applause] -James: We love you guys, thank you so much.

From the bottom of our hearts, cheers.

– Luke: Opa, yeah!

[laughter] All these fish skins tonight?

Right under your pillow.

– Arthur: Mm.

- That's what I'm saving 'em for.

– Arthur: You know what I like.

– Luke: [laughs] I know.

- Oh, my God, I thought I was bleeding.

It's cherry juice.

Nobody panic.

Oh, my God, that, like, really threw me for a loop.

I'm like, "Already five minutes in, and I've cut myself."

Oh, I have gloves in my pocket.

That's great.

– Luke: Sounds like an Alanis Morissette song.

I found gloves in my pocket [laughs] - Kat: You're sure we can't turn the music on, right?

– Luke: [laughs] Yeah.

Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank the following underwriters.

- The dairy farmers of Wisconsin are proud to underwrite Wisconsin Foodie and remind you that, in Wisconsin, we dream in cheese.

[group cheers] Just look for our badge.

It's on everything we make.

- Did you know Organic Valley protects over 400,000 acres of organic farmland?

So, are we an organic food cooperative that protects land, or land conservationists who make delicious food?

Yes; yes, we are.

Organic Valley.

- Our all-natural roll recipe has been around since 1830.

No binders or fillers.

Just pork, salt, and a savory blend of spices that we make ourselves.

Jones: Making breakfast better since 1889.

- The Wisconsin potato and vegetable growers are proud underwriters of Wisconsin Foodie.

It takes love of the land and generations of farming know-how to nurture a quality potato crop.

Ask any potato farmer and they'll tell you, there's a lot of satisfaction in healthy-grown crops.

- Employee-owned New Glarus Brewing Company has been brewing and bottling beer for their friends, only in Wisconsin, since 1993.

Just a short drive from Madison, come visit Swissconsin and see where your beer's made.

- With additional support coming from The Conscious Carnivore.

From local animal sourcing to on-site, high-quality butchering and packaging, The Conscious Carnivore can ensure organically raised, grass-fed, and healthy meats through its small group of local farmers.

The Conscious Carnivore: Know your farmer, love your butcher.

Also with the support of The Friends of PBS Wisconsin