Pierre DeRagon Personal Chef Services

19/01/2025

28/11/2024

CHARCUTERIE BOARDS OVER THE YEARS

28/11/2024

MORE OF MY FAVORITE WORK

28/11/2024

VANITY FAIR

This is likely hubris at its worst. I am missing cooking and all that career brought to me. So, over the next weeks I'm going to post photos of what I think is my best work over the years -- for myself, for those who have always been so supportive of my postings, and the clients for whom I cooked the dishes.

30/10/2024

30/10/2024

16/10/2024

HERE IS LISTING #1 OF ITEMS FOR SALE

There will be more lists published in the coming weeks. Look through, message with questions and buy, buy, buy!

22/09/2024

SWAN SONG.

After 14 wonderful years, last night was my swan song as a personal/private chef. We use this metaphor, "swan song" often throughout our lives but what does it mean, really? Not really knowing and to get a clear idea, I looked it up.

"'swan song' is a metaphor that refers to a final performance, effort, or gesture before death or retirement. It comes from the ancient Greek belief that swans are silent for most of their lives, but sing a beautiful song just before they die."

I'm not dead yet so, for me, this refers to my retirement. Even though I have never, ever been silent, last night I sang a beautiful song for a group of 10 lovely folks at a beautiful home set deep in the woods of Berks County. The gentleman who engaged me, Dr. Thomas Schantz, has been a presence in my life for many years.

As a young art professor at Kutztown University, spending a long time as chairman of the renowned art education department at that institution, Dr. Schantz came to know and rely on my mother who was a fixture in, and the brains behind, the University's registrar's office and he taught my sister, Sally, as she fulfilled her art education requirement to receive her degree in Early Childhood Education.

I asked Dr. Schantz how I came to know him; it was more than just by association with my mother and sister, we knew, but neither of us could remember. All I know is that he has been a presence in my life for as long as I have memory.

And last night nine of his closest friends gathered to celebrate his 80th birthday at this beautiful home of two of his closest friends set bucolically by the Saucony Creek on Forgedale Road... a beautiful home that, through various associations, I have known all my life.

I had cooked for Dr. Schantz once before many years ago in his beautiful tree house home (it's literally a tree house) not far from last night's venue and I was honored to cook my last dinner party before my retirement in celebration of his 80th.

My assistant for the evening was the divine Amanda Hart Seltzer who is lovely, charming, and quietly, effectively capable (thank you, Amanda!!!). It was not a difficult menu, I'm glad to say, and because of that it was a joy to cook.

I/we had a wonderful time and, if I do say so myself, the dinner was excellent. There were several loving naysayers in my life who told me I was crazy to attempt doing a dinner party in my "condition". Amanda is well aware of my many different physical liabilities and she knew just what to do to help me through it.

I am eternally grateful to her, to Dr. Schantz, to Deb and Marilyn (the hostesses) and to all the guests who made it a joyous swan song for me.

The menu can be seen in the photos below.

27/06/2024

HOW TO DO AN HORS D’OEUVRE RECEPTION
and live to tell the story…..

Before you read any further I must clarify something. This party was done, but not posted, two years ago in June 2022 and for some reason I just didn't post it. I wanted to let you know because I did not make a miraculous recovery from the life-altering surgery I had in February..

June 2022:

This past weekend was a busy one. In fact, the entire week before the weekend was a busy one. I probably over-extended myself but the two events that transpired were both labors of love.

Saturday was a bridal shower for 35 women that was given by the aunt of the bride and Sunday was a buffet dinner for 15 guests. Both hostesses were wonderful to work with. The shower hostess was a very talented floral designer and elected to do all the flowers but coming from North Carolina she had her work cut out for her. She did it beautifully.

The shower was an hors d'oeuvre event, which I love doing but they’re not done very often. With time passing between hors d'oeuvre events I forgot how much work they are and how much detail is critical to the success and beauty of the food.

Plus, it has to taste great.

I became very caught up in the preparation of the shower food primarily because of the empathy that developed between me and the hostess. This was an event from her heart and done completely out of love by an aunt for her niece. I understand that completely, being very close to my nephew and my niece. Very shortly after we began speaking about the shower and the food I became very passionate about the event and the food's success. I understood what she wanted and she understood what I was going to do.

Steady as she goes…..

You MUST be organized and you MUST be methodical. An hors d’oeuvre reception is a ton of work because everything is so small and so detailed and usually has so many components and steps in just one hors d’oeuvre.

Plan ahead! List each hors d’oeuvre and each step that is necessary to bring that hors d’oeuvre to completion. Then set objectives for each day for completion of different cooking and assembly steps….. and meet them.

I started shopping and prepping for this shower a week before the event, simultaneously shopping and prepping for the shower and the buffet dinner I catered the day after. This was a double whammy, but if you are organized and methodical you’ll make it!

I didn’t shop both events all at once – there was no way there would have been room in my cooking space to store everything. So, I shopped early every morning, buying what I needed to prepare for that day. This may sound like a waste of time but you have to adapt your method and ex*****on to the environment you are working in.

Prepare in advance…..

With hors d'oeuvres, you make as much in advance as you possibly can and freeze it, bearing in mind that the bulk of putting it all together takes place the day and night before, and the day of.

Oi.

For example……

08/04/2024

LOBSTER-STUFFED BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH A LOBSTER BEARNAISE SAUCE - Part Trois

Now the fun starts!

First, BUTTERFLYING THE MEAT.

After the whole tenderloin is butchered and trimmed the next step is to butterfly it. Butterflying means we're going to transform the tenderloin from a whole, solid piece of meat to a thinner, flat, rectangular (as much as possible) piece of meat using a knife.

There are two methods (that I know of) to accomplish this. The first method is one I don't like and avoid using. The piece of meat is laid out on a cutting board and you make the first cut in the middle, down its length, parallel to the board almost through to the other side. See the photograph.

This leaves a hinge in the middle which is used to fold the meat open like a book. Then, if necessary, you use a tenderizing mallet to beat the meat on each side of the hinge until it's flat and of uniform thickness. You can help it along by making slashes in the meat.

I don't like this method.

SPIRAL BUTTERFLYING

The method I like is called spiral butterflying. The end result is a flat, evenly thick piece of meat that isn't subjected to pounding the living daylights out of it.

It is more difficult than the book and beat method but the result is much better. The visuals are courtesy of The Ladies Home Journal and show a boneless pork roast being spiral butterflied. Same dif.

You make a 1/2" deep cut above the underside of the roast that runs the whole long side. Then you just keep cutting inward above the underside of the roast, pulling back the meat as you cut and unrolling it like a carpet. See the photos.

ASSEMBLING THE STUFFED ROAST

Now that you've butterflied everything and mercifully that's over with, and you've made your mushroom duxelles the day before you are ready for the next step:

LOBSTERS

Again, like beef tenderloin - $$$$$! But it is so worth it.
Depending on the length of the tenderloin you will need 5 - 6 lobster tails removed from the shells. But before you lay down the tails you need to do some prep work to your meat.

First, season with salt and pepper what is going to be the inside of the rolled beef tenderloin -- the smooth side is the finished outside -- with alot of soft butter. Then lay down a layer of Prosciutto di Parma.

After the Prosciutto, schmeer a healthy thick layer of Mushroom Duxelles and then lay down the lobster tails. Season them with salt. There are two things to keep in mind when laying down the lobster tails:

1) you want the lobster tails to land in the center when you roll up the roast. In order for the tails to do this they need to be placed OFF-center. Please see the photograph and note that the tails are placed slightly below center.

2) you want the lobster to be of even thickness the length of the roast. To achieve this you must overlap the tails thick end over thin end, rather than thick over thick or thin over thin, which would give you super thick then super thin lobster inside your roast. You can see how to do it if you look closely at the photo.

Then, the final steps are approaching!

08/04/2024

LOBSTER-STUFFED BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH A LOBSTER BEARNAISE SAUCE -- Part Deux

Now that the tenderloin has been butchered, trimmed and cleaned it's time to begin getting the dish's various components together; and there are many.

The first is Mushroom Duxelles. The word "duxelles" (pronounced "do͝okˈsel" -- the s is silent) has no meaning in the culinary world other than its application to this preparation and boy, is it yummy. The good news is that you can make it a day in advance.

The purpose of the duxelles in this dish is to add a layer of flavor as well as a visual layer of interest when the dish is sliced. Making the duxelles is very easy and the recipe is below.

Mushroom duxelles can be used in many different dishes but it is most notably used in Beef Wellington, a retro preparation of beef tenderloin encased in puff pastry that ultimately went by the wayside, and with good reason: the "buck" far outweighs the "bang".

Mushroom Duxelles

Ingredients
* 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 2 medium shallots, coarsely chopped
* 2 pounds mushrooms, crimini or button
* 2 sprig fresh thyme
* 2 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked
* 2 bay leaf
* 1 cup dry sherry
* 6 tablespoons créme frâiche (**Vermont Creamery makes very good, very thick créme frâiche. You can get it at Giant, Wegmans and Whole Foods)

Directions

Sauté the mushrooms and shallots with a few sprigs of thyme in a large frying pan on medium high heat with oil. Let them caramelize (note how dark they are in the photo); watch constantly and stir occasionally. Towards the end turn down the heat and add the dry sherry. Let the sherry cook down to practically nothing, then salt the mushrooms.

Let everything cool then put the mushrooms and shallots in a food processor and pulse until they are very finely chopped.
Transfer the mushrooms back to the frying pan and add thyme leaves and bay leaf. Add the créme frâiche and cook slowly to a very thick paste.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper. You can go rather heavy with the salt -- mushrooms can tolerate heavy seasoning and it will help season the dish, overall.