Quality ingredients worth the trip

Like an executive chef at a high-end restaurant, Richard "Rick" Berglund is on a mission to source top-quality ingredients for his kitchen, even if he has to drive well past the local supermarket.

The 65-year-old family practice physician handles all the cooking at home in South Barrington for himself and his wife, Anne Kristufek. Between his finicky palate and his crazy schedule, Rick and his wife rarely eat out.

Periodically he and Anne travel to Westby Locker & Meats, Westby Cooperative Creamery and Carr Valley Cheese Company, all in Wisconsin, for "singularly the best butter I've ever had, one of the best bacons" and artisan cheeses they can watch being made.

Sometimes they head west to Torkelson Cheese Company in Lena, north of DeKalb, for "cheeses you can't buy easily in Chicago," like five- to seven-year-old cheddars. "It's worth a trip," he promises.

Rick buys all his spices from Penzeys, either online at penzeys.com or at the stores in Naperville or Wisconsin. Among his purchases: whole vanilla beans and blade mace, flattened, dried pieces of mace far more intense than the ground stuff you might find at the grocery store.

He stocks up on deli meats and mushrooms from Conte Di Savoia, an Italian deli in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood. "For two or three days I survive entirely on Italian sandwiches," he says. ."

Rick's introduction to cooking began decades ago when he was writing a restaurant column for the student newspaper at Roosevelt University, Chicago. As restaurateurs got to know him, they plied Rick with free meals, pretty much throughout his undergrad years. His meal ticket expired when he transferred to University of Illinois.

"When I had to pay for my own food I realized how expensive it was," he says. "I thought it couldn't be too difficult to cook; all the free meals I ate had come to me in 15 minutes."

He bought a set of avocado green pots and pans from Sears and one of Antoinette Pope's cookbooks, the one his mother used, and taught himself to cook.

Rick now owns well over a thousand cookbooks and dozens of kitchen gadgets. He tends a garden and freezes the surplus; what he doesn't grow he buys in bulk from farmers markets and freezes.

For convenience, Rick tends to prepare several meals at a time, refrigerating some for the near term and freezing the rest for later. At Costco, he buys meats and poultry from pork shoulder roasts to whole chickens and whole strip steaks, which he cuts to size.

"I'm more a winter cook than summer," says Rick, who prepares chicken stock in a 20-quart pot for hearty meals like gumbo, stews and cassoulet.

Reap the rewards of Rick's experimentation with this trio of unusual recipes.

Asian-inspired Tea Smoked Chicken has "incredible flavor," he says. "I make it two or three times a year and wonder why I don't do this more often."

Instead of potatoes with your next roast chicken or turkey, try Roasted and Creamed Mashed Parsnips, creatively seasoned with nutmeg, mace and thyme.

Rick calls his Espresso Flan "custard with attitude." He recommends splurging on a vanilla bean for the ultimate in flavor, of course.

Says Rick, "quality ingredients is singularly the best thing anyone can do for themselves."

Tea Smoked Chicken

1/2 cup white rice

1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark

1/2 cup lapsang souchong tea leaves

2-inch knob fresh ginger, coarsely chopped

2-3 pieces star anise (to taste)

1 teaspoon Szechwan peppercorns, crushed

1 teaspoon five-spice powder (or more to taste)

3-41/2-pound roasting chicken, rinsed and dried

1 onion, cut in pieces

1 lemon, cut in pieces

Vegetable oil

Line the bottom of a wok with two or three layers of heavy duty aluminum foil, allowing about 2 to 3 inches overlap over the sides. Into the wok put the rice, sugar, tea leaves, ginger, star anise, peppercorns and five-spice powder. On top of this lay several water-soaked wooden chopsticks as a platform.

In the chicken, place the onion and lemon pieces. Drizzle bird with oil and rub into skin. Place on chopstick platform.

Tent a double layer of heavy-duty foil over the bird. Pinch and seal, making sure there is at least an inch or more room between bird and foil. Place wok on its saddle over large stovetop burner turned to high. Cook about 25-30 minutes. Little if any smoke should escape if foil is properly sealed. Bottom of wok will turn red-yellow hot during cooking. Turn off heat and allow to sit 5-10 minutes; uncover. Chicken will be fragrant and have a dark reddish-brown color. Remove and chop into bone-in serving pieces. Serve with dipping sauces.

Serves four.

Cook's note: I recommend buying the cheapest, all-metal wok, dedicated only to this recipe because it will be very difficult to clean. You can also make this with duck or turkey breast.

Roasted and Creamed Mashed Parsnips

2 pounds firm, unblemished, medium parsnips

2-3 tablespoons unsalted, melted butter

1 clove garlic, julienned

11/2 cups heavy cream

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or extra virgin olive oil, or half of each

1/4 teaspoon or less nutmeg

Very tiny piece blade mace

11/2 teaspoons ground white pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel parsnips and cut into small chunks, removing any tough core in the thicker end. Place in a bowl, drizzle with 2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter, add the garlic and mix well. Turn out in a single layer onto shallow roasting pan and roast 20-30 minutes, turning once, until evenly light tan-brown and tender. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Place parsnips in food processor with cream, thyme leaves, butter or olive oil, nutmeg, blade mace, pepper and salt. Pulse to desired consistency, adding more cream as desired.

Serves four to six.

Cook's note: For best results make ahead and reheat, covered, in 350-degree oven or microwave.

Espresso Flan

6 large eggs

2 egg yolks

11/3 cups white sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

11/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped of seeds and pul (see note)

1 heaping teaspoon freeze-dried espresso coffee

Caramel

11/2 cups white sugar

1/4 cup water

Whisk eggs and yolks together, add sugar, salt and cream. Mix well. Add vanilla seed and pulp and continue whisking. Allow to rest 15 minutes so vanilla can infuse custard.

In the meantime, heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan; add sugar and then water. Heat on high stirring constantly until sugar melts and caramel color develops. Be careful not to burn. Remove from heat and spoon 2 teaspoons each into 5, 6-inch diameter ramekins and allow to firm.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

After custard has rested strain through a fine sieve to remove strands of egg white. Stir in espresso. Lightly brush sides of ramekins and the caramel with melted butter or coat with cooking spray.

Fill ramekins about two-thirds full with custard and place in baking pan about the same height as the ramekins. Add tap water to the baking pan to the same level of the custard. Bake about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool to desired serving temperature.

To serve: Run a knife around edge, place serving plate over ramekin and flip over. Scrape out any residual caramel and drizzle over flan.

Cook's notes: Put vanilla bean pod into maple syrup or sugar container for flavor. You can use smaller ramekins; cooking time is about the same. Check for doneness 5-10 minutes earlier. Leave out espresso for vanilla flan or experiment with different flavorings, like maple syrup or almond extract.