Meet Sheri Isabela, acting Head Chef at The Barn Kitchen & Bar at the Williams Inn. Here she shares a little about her background, the vision of The Barn menus, and her versatile recipe for Beurre Monté.

When did you decide to become a chef?

I was a late-comer to the restaurant industry after making the career-changing decision to enroll in culinary school at age 39. My original goal was to become a private chef, and I still aspire to that one day, but over the past five years I’ve found a passion and enthusiasm for the crazy kitchen life that took me by surprise.

What are some of your goals for creating menu options at The Barn?

As acting Head Chef of The Barn I have an amazing opportunity to marry my culinary point of view to the goals of the restaurant and showcase local, seasonal, familiar ingredients that are properly prepared. To help us bring our vision to the marketplace we partner with farms and other suppliers that have the same commitment and vision. We like to keep things fresh, offer diverse vegetarian and vegan options, and have made a commitment to keep all of our upcoming seasonal soups meat-free.

What’s a favorite recipe you’d like to share?

My kitchen team and I have our sights set on Thanksgiving (look out for our special holiday menu to be posted on November 1st). So with the start of the entertaining season in mind, I want to share our recipe for Beurre Monté.

The first chef I worked for, a fellow graduate of the French Culinary Institute in NYC, taught me how to make this sauce, and all about its diversity and potential applications. Any French-trained chef will have it in their repertoire. It’s basically emulsified butter that can be flavored and used in so many different ways. You can use it as a resting bath for virtually any protein for added richness. Or you can stir in any combination of citrus and herbs to create a simple but lovely sauce.

I use a lemon-infused version on our halibut dish at The Barn. You can even toss it with cooked pasta for elevated buttered noodles (a staple in my house as a kid – I still crave it occasionally). It’s an easy technique that, once mastered, can make any host or hostess feel like a pro.

Beurre Monté

Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb butter, cut into cubes

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan (you want even heat distribution), melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat and sweat the shallot and thyme until the shallot is translucent (no browning).

Add the wine and turn the heat up to medium-high; reduce the wine by half.

Add the cream and reduce by half.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and whisk in the butter a cube at a time, creating an emulsion.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal holding pan and keep warm but not hot so the sauce doesn’t break (the pilot light on a gas stove generates just enough heat).

Season with salt and pepper and use as is or stir in any other desired flavorings (citrus juice, herbs, spices).