GREAT CHEFS IN THEIR KITCHENS
Winner of the Hobbs ApplewoodSmoked Meats Recipe Contest
Take the Hobbs Cure with
ExecutiveChef Heidi Krahlings, Insalata Restaurant

By Mike Walsh

Four years ago Chef Heidi Krahlings, her Husband and artist Laura Perkins, transformed what was once an ugly "barn" in San Anselmo, into Insalata Restaurant a bright, colorful, trendy Mediterranean restaurant with an emphasis on take-out.

Heidi started her career in the restaurant business directly out of college with a business degree from Cal Poly. She owned her first restaurant at the age of 21, a little neighborhood cafe in San Luis Obispo. Then after learning the ropes of the business the hard way, she enrolled in cooking school at Tante Marie in San Francisco. She was fortunate enough to have attended during the golden days of the school, when chefs Carlo Middone & Jaque Pepin were teaching there. After finishing school, her luck continued, and she landed a job that she affectionately refers to as "line slut" for Joyce Goldstein at Square One. The other cooks on the line were incredible talents that have gone on to successful restaurants of their own. "We had the best people on the line; it was an incredible growing experience for me."

In 1985 she left Square One and went to work in Mill Valley with Perry Butler and opened Butlers restaurant where she stayed for four years. "We were very eclectic, and may have been before our time. But even so, people loved it and it consistently took two weeks to get a reservation. After that great experience, I went on to a real sensible job as the head chef for the Smith Ranch Retirement Home. I was able to raise the standard of retirement cuisine to a new level and loved working in a situation where I could pay what I wanted for help and had complete control of a large and creative cooking operation." But after eight years of regular hours and raising two children, she felt it was time to make a move again. The location in San Anselmo was available, and it seemed like a great place to do a take out type restaurant, and Insalata Restaurant was born.

Originally, it was going to be just take out food, but it evolved into a full service restaurant offering take out, fitting the space perfectly. The take out business has doubled every year, and represents 25% of the gross sales. The format of the restaurant is Mediterranean based, with influences from North Africa, Portugal, Basque, Greece and Turkey.

Heidi is an innovative chef who successfully uses the influences of all these cuisines with out confusion, producing food that is as fresh and bright as the restaurant's décor. Heidi does all the food buying herself and doesn't use a broadline distributor, preferring the ability to get the quality and service she can depend on every time. She mentioned, tongue firmly in cheek, that the broadline distributor business model is one that hasn't been perfected yet.

Insalata Restaurant Interior

This commitment to quality makes her a perfect customer for Hobbs Shore and his line of specialty smoked meats. Heidi's grandparents were from Italy, and her father, Italo Insalata, was also a chef and friend of Hobbs Shore for many years. Carrying on the family tradition, Heidi has been using Hobbs Applewood Bacon and his specialty dry cured products for fifteen years and couldn't imagine building a menu without these luscious items. Hobbs will develop signature products for chefs if they can't find what they are looking for. Now that's service! "Hobbs has the joy of doing everything at the highest quality and nobody else has the products that chefs have asked him to develop. He makes them in small batches that big commercial outfits wouldn't touch. You don't have to worry about the quality shifting, because it's the same every time."

Chef's Recipes:

Portuguese Clam, Hobbs Portuguese Chorizo and Tomato Saute

Ingredients:
1 lbs. manila clams, scrubbed
3 oz. Hobbs Portuguese chorizo, skinned and sliced diagonally, 1/4 in. thick
1 oz. Extra Virgin olive oil
4 oz. white wine
3 ea. cloves garlic
1 pinch hot pepper flakes
2 ea. Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chunked
4 oz. good quality marinara sauce preferably homemade
Salt and pepper to taste
Crispy Hobbs Applewood Bacon

Method:
In a medium saute pan, add the olive oil. When hot add the chorizo and brown on both sides. Remove chorizo and set aside. In the same pan on medium heat, add the garlic, wine, tomatoes, and hot pepper flakes and cook for one minute. Add the clams and marinara sauce. Cover and simmer until clams have opened. Add chorizo, salt and pepper to taste. Top with Crispy Applewood Smoked Bacon Gremolata. Serve immediately with rustic bread.

Crispy Applewood Smoked Bacon Gremolata

Ingredients:
2 ea. thin slices of Hobbs Applewood smoked bacon
1 TB olive oil1
! ea. zest of one lemon
2 TB chopped Italian parsley

Method:
In a medium saute pan add olive oil. When hot add bacon slices. The bacon will seize up (don't worry!) When bacon is lightly browned, turn over and saute for 15 seconds. Remove bacon and place on paper towels. Allow too cool. Once cooled, bacon will be crispy. Crush with your hands into a bowl. Mix with lemon zest and parsley.