December 14, 2007

Secret Sauce welcomes Chef Steve Chiappetti of Chicago's Viand restaurant and not one, but two fun finger food dishes for you to create at home.

His recipes for Stuffed Potato Chips & Gouda Lollipops are perfect for your upcoming holiday get-togethers and parties, yet simple enough to make without missing out on all the fun!

Says Chef Chiappetti, "...Everyone loves potato chips! They’re a universal item and can be stuffed with a number of other ingredients for different tastes. Have fun, be creative with this recipe. The Gouda lollipops make for a fun, unique presentation that can be combined with a number of dipping options. They’re a fun, bite-sized surprise! You can also substitute the filling with a number of items including shrimp, beef or chicken."

Here's how to make this celebrity chef's bite-sized fun foods:



Procedure: Stuffed Potato Chips

• In a sauté pan put shallow amount of oil and add garlic, shrimp, and basil.

• Cook till firm and deglaze with white wine and reduce until dry. Stir in the bread crumbs and parmesan. Set aside.

• Slice potato paper thin and lay out on parchment paper. Put a spoonful of shrimp relish on the potato and put another piece of potato on top.

• Place in a sauté pan with shallow amount of oil and sauté till crisp. Serve.

Watch the segment from TODAY: Procedure: Gouda Lollipops

• Heat the water and pour into a bowl. Add the brown sugar, seasonings and mix till dissolved.

• Add the Gouda cheese and slowly incorporate flour until it forms dough. Leave to rest for five minutes.

• Take a portion of the dough and wrap around a small cube of Gouda cheese or braised beef filling forming a tight ball with dough on all sides.

• Fry the ball till golden brown and set aside. Poke it with a lollipop stick and serve with chimichurri sauce.

Chimichurri is an Argentine herb sauce. Get a great recipe from Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi here.

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About the Chef:
A native of Chicago’s south side, Chef Steve Chiappetti of Viand definitely has cooking in his blood. His family name is behind Chicago’s oldest slaughter and packinghouse, Chiappetti Lamb and Veal, which after 51 years of business is the last remaining slaughterhouse in the Chicago Stockyards.

Firmly grounded from childhood in the fundamentals of southern European fare, especially that of Provence, Chiappetti forged his own unique style of cooking with a mixture of formal training and hands-on experience. After attending the Culinary School at Kendall College, he worked under a series of impressive mentors, among them Fernand Gutierrez at the Ritz Carlton Dining Room and Chef Paul Bartolotta at Spiaggia. Chiappetti’s talent got him tapped to represent the U.S. in the Bocuse d’Or, one of Europe’s most prestigious food competitions. In 1997, he was nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef Award.

As a chef and entrepreneur, Chiappetti went on to blaze his own trail, opening a string of successful, highly acclaimed restaurants. Mango, an American Bistro characterized by a warm, hip dining room and an eclectic menu, garnered three stars from, respectively, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, and the Sun Times, rocketing Chiappetti to the center of Chicago’s culinary scene. Grapes, a three-star Mediterranean café, was a funky, neighborhood place with a colorful dining room.

Chiappetti later joined forces with the Chicago Symphony to open Rhapsody, a three-star contemporary American bistro for the care and feeding of symphony- goers and Loop diners. Continuing to strike a musical theme, Chiappetti consulted on the Freehling Room, the private donors club at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park.

In 2003, after a three-year sabbatical from his frenetic pace, Chiappetti opened Café le Coq, a classic French Bistro in Oak Park. Chiappetti and his wife, Leslie, currently own Banana Bakery in Westchester, Illinois, and the Monkey Fudge Factory.

Visit Steve Chiappetto on the web @ viandchicago.com.