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Cooking Up Inspiration
Burlington Free Press By Melissa Pasanen Free Press Correspondent When Bob and Melinda Blanchard first met at Lyndon State College in the late 1960s, the seventh-generation Vermonter and the New York City girl didn’t expect to fall in love, create and ultimately sell a successful Vermont-based specialty food company – or take a leap of faith into the restaurant business on the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla. They definitely didn’t expect to become repeat guests on NBC’s “Today” show where, just a few weeks ago, the team from Blanchards Restaurant showed Al Roker how to make island-flavored recipes such as Key Lime Pie in a Glass and Mango Coladas from their two cookbooks and announced a second restaurant opening this November in Anguilla’s new St. Regis Temenos luxury resort. But perhaps most surprising – and gratifying – the Blanchards didn’t expect to inspire thousands of others to take their own leaps of faith. “We’ve lived our life a certain way. It’s just what we do,” Melinda said recently in the living room of the Norwich home where the couple still spends about half of each year. “Our goal now is to help other people figure out how to do it, too.” They had just delivered the commencement address in Lyndonville during which they shared their philosophy with the Lyndon State graduates and their families. “We talk to a lot of people,” they said. “We always begin by asking them: Do you know what it is that you love? What you really love? What you’re passionate about? What makes you smile and laugh? Do you have a list of things you want to do, places you want to go–dreams you want to realize? If you do, we tell them … follow through. Because imagine living your whole life and then saying: ‘Wait! I need another chance; I just wanted to try this one thing.’ ” The Blanchards have lived their lives with great passion, taking risks, often trying more than one new thing at a time. Not everything they’ve taken on has been successful. At their first fancy food show, bottles of their salad dressing exploded while on display; they gave up everything to move to California only to realize it wasn’t the right place for them; at one point, when one of their many entrepreneurial endeavors failed, they even resorted to burying their savings in the frozen Vermont ground; and barely a year after they built it, their restaurant was almost destroyed by Hurricane Luis. Each time, they bounced back. “If you want it to work,” Melinda said, “you make it work.” “People say, ‘But what about the mortgage?’ “Bob said.”If the mortgage is an albatross, then sell the house.” “Money is an essential part of the equation,” he conceded, “but it’s not No. 1. If it’s the primary interest in your life, you lose sight of the other three: place, people and passion.” For the Blanchards, their passion is food – and also people. “We’re encouraging people to live what they love,” said Melinda, who is a self-taught chef. “For us, that means being around food. Live what you love also means surrounding yourself with people you love, and for us, that means doing it with our whole team.” “That’s the reason we’re in the restaurant business,” Bob said pointing to a photo of a little girl in a red hat on their Vermont mantelpiece. The smiling cherub is their goddaughter, daughter of the Blanchards’ restaurant manager. “We’re not in the restaurant business because we like the business that much,” Bob added, “but in Anguilla, it’s a different business. All these people have been with us since we started in 1994. We’ve had the same dishwasher since 1994,” he noted, something that is essentially unheard of in the restaurant business. The story of the dishwasher, whose name is Bug, makes another point. “We tried to promote him, and he said, ‘Whatever you want, I’ll do,’ ” explained Bob. So we made him a prep cook. And he did it, but he wasn’t as happy. He said, ‘I don’t really like this promotion business,’ and he asked to go back to dishwashing. Now he’s keeping everyone else smiling and laughing again.” The Blanchards’ approach to food is as down-to-earth as their approach to life. Bob descries his wife’s cooking style as “very straightforward recipes but packed with flavor. They’re not bashful.” Simple grilled fish and meats are topped with· tropically accented sauces, featuring mint, coconut and ginger. They spike ricotta with a little Tabasco and Worcestershire, sprinkle in some chives and make a tasty spread for grilled bread. Dessert might be baked peaches topped with cinnamon whipped cream or individual chocolate icebox cakes that stack Famous Wafers with espresso-flavored cream. “What’s the point of doing a cookbook that nobody has the time to use?” Melinda said. The Blanchards have, however, put cookbooks on hold in favor of growing their life-coaching book series and related merchandise. They receive hundreds of e-mails and letters each day from readers of their books, “A Trip to the Beach” (Clarkson Potter, 2000) -which described their jump from Vermont to Anguilla – and “Live What You Love” (Sterling Publishing, 2005) – which uses experiences from their lives to illustrate their broader philosophy. “It seems I am sending this card to a couple of old friends,” a woman from Florida wrote recently before thanking the Blanchards for inspiring her out of a life rut. They respond to each one personally and have just hired a full-time assistant to help with that task. “We would never send a form letter,” said Melinda with a grimace. “So much of it is very personal stuff’” Bob said. The Blanchards know that the appeal of their own personal story has helped spread their message, that moving to a tropical paradise and opening a beach restaurant is the stuff reality shows are made of. “Our dream happens to be what other people dream,” Melinda concedes. But if, for example, your passion is accounting, she says, “If you love to crunch numbers, make sure you’re doing it with the people you want to be with.” Recipes Recipes from “Cook What You Love” by Bob and Melinda Blanchard (Clarkson Potter, 2005). These recipes would make a great last-minute, tropically themed Fourth of July feast. ZUCCHINI SALAD One-quarter cup sour cream One-quarter cup Hellman’s mayonnaise 1 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel 1 teaspoon dried basil One-half teaspoon kosher salt One- quarter teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 pounds small zucchini ends trimmed In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, orange peel, basil, salt and pepper. Set aside. Slice the zucchini into very thin rounds, or lengthwise into thin, wide ribbons. Place the sliced zucchini in a large bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves 6. • Free Press testing note: You could substitute 1 tablespoon thinly sliced basil leaves for the dried. GRILLED SWORDFISH WITH CILANTRO AND LIME 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 1 small shallot, minced 1 and one-half tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 swordfish steaks (6-8 ounces each) 2 tablespoons olive oil Preheat your grill to medium-high. Using a fork or small food processor, mix together the butter, coconut milk, lime juice, shallot, cilantro’ and one-quarter teaspoon each salt and pepper. Brush the swordfish with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill the steaks, turning once, about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Spread about a tablespoon of the butter mixture over each piece of fish and let rest for 2 minutes before serving. Serves 4. • Free Press testing note: The cilantro and lime butter works well on almost any grilled fish, steak, or even as a burger topper. KEY LIME PIE IN A GLASS 8 egg yolks 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk 1 cup bottled Key lime juice, well shaken (*see testing note) 12 Oreos finely crushed using a food processor or in a plastic bag using a rolling pin 1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the sweetened condensed milk. Gradually whisk the Key lime juice into the mixture. Pour about 1 inch of the lime mixture into a clear glass, 3 to 4 inches wide at the top. Sprinkle with one-quarter-inch layer of crumbs. Pour in another layer of Key lime, then more crumbs, and finish with a third layer of Key lime. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, allowing the Key lime mixture to moisten the crumbs. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla. Top each glass with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cookie crumbs. Serves 4. •Free Press testing note: Bottled Key lime juice is available at some local markets including Shaw’s (in the natural foods juice section) and at Fresh Market on Pine Street. You can substitute freshly squeezed regular lime juice. We also found that it tasted great even just refrigerated for a couple of hours. MANGO COLADA 2 cups very ripe mango, cut into cubes 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cream of coco-Nut, such as Coco Lopez One-quarter cup white rum Dash fresh lime juice 2 and one-half cups crushed ice Mango wedges for garnish Combine all ingredients except mango for garnish in a blender and blend at high speed until smooth. Garnish each glass with a wedge of mango. Serves 2. |
