Cooking Irish Isn’t Just About Corned Beef, Cabbage Anymore.

By Deserae Constantineau

"I don’t consider myself a chef," chuckles Jimmy Pandl, owner of Egan’s on Water Street and Pandl’s in Bayside. In his wire-rimmed glasses, khakis and white button-down shirt, Pandl looks more like a teacher than a gourmand of the highest caliber. While Pandl may not consider himself a chef, the students enrolled in his Gourmet Irish Cuisine Class — offered through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education on March 15 — may come away with a different opinion. 

Pandl is relaxed as he leans against the back of a bar stool, sipping a coffee and telling the story of his family’s history in the restaurant business, his inspiration for Egan’s and his excitement over the changing trends in Irish cuisine—the impetus for his new cooking class. When asked about the upcoming class and his career-long interest Irish fare, he smiles, "I feel a little silly. I’m by no means an authority on Irish cuisine, but I understand food and have done my homework." 

Pandl, who is one-third Irish, took his first excursion to the Emerald Isle in June, 2004, spending 11-days traveling through Southern Ireland with 16 of his closest friends and family. "Turns out, my mother’s mother was an O’Brien who came over from Ireland with her sister through Ellis Island sometime in the early 1900s." 

However, soon after arriving in America, his grandmother O’Brien took on the name of her host family, "McDermott," and much of the family’s Irish history was lost with the passing of the generations. During his trip to the Auld Sod, Pandl was inspired to look into his maternal heritage, however, having only the name O’Brien to go on, the search didn’t get very far. 

What Pandl did find during his travels was a changing trend in Irish cooking. Traditional Irish fare isn’t just shepherd’s pie and lamb stew anymore. "Upscale food has taken a leap," Pandl explains. "The Irish are beginning to incorporate their natural resources, their abundance of fresh seafood…they are beginning to use higher-end fish like sole and haddock." Pandl spoke with many an Irish chef during his journey and shared numerous recipes and ideas for new twists on traditional Irish fare. "I wanted to know how they are incorporating other ethnic foods into established Irish dishes. I don’t care about how they do pizza or Chinese, I want to know how they make a salmon carpaccio, taking an Italian delicacy and giving it an Irish twist." 

Pandl’s hands dance as he explains the difference between Irish and American fare. "Everything is more home-grown," he says. The Irish still farm most of their own ingredients and Pandl was impressed by the down-home quality of both the meals and the preparation. You look across the street and there are the lambs grazing in the field. You walk down the road and there’s the vegetable garden." 

Pandl, an admitted seafood man — "A good piece of fresh water trout is as good as a fancy red snapper" — was especially excited by the growing use of fresh fish and seafood throughout the region. "We had mussels everywhere we went. Here, mussels are usually prepared in some type of broth…there, you find much of the seafood served in more cream sauces, but light creams," he explains. "Butter and cream is a valued product, it’s mixed into the heritage." 

Pandl recognizes that Irish cooking is as much about technique as it is ingredients, slow simmers and delicate spices. These are the fine nuances he hopes to convey to the students of his Irish cooking class. He wants to show how "new cuisine is using the country’s traditional ingredients in unique new styles" while staying true to the country’s heritage. 

So what is it that makes a traditional Irish meal with a new twist? "Everything there is fresher…the salmon, the lobster. Dairy is [also] a big part of the cuisine and the sauces are light and the spices subtle." While he found many changes occurring in Irish cuisine, what hasn’t changed is the traditional Irish breakfast. "You can’t do much with bacon and eggs," he smiles. "And I like it that way." While the seafood was by far his favorite, Pandl’s says that while in Ireland he had "the best lamb of his life. Very flavorful, very lean." 

His trip to Ireland only helped to inform Pandl’s already established interest in high-end Irish cuisine, something he has worked to present on the Egan’s menu for the past 12 years. Egan’s, named after Fr. John Egan, one of Pandl’s teachers at Marquette High School in Milwaukee, was inspired by a steak and seafood house Pandl frequented while living and working in Seattle in the early 1980s.

"Jake O’Shaughnessy’s had the best prime rib and Irish coffee I have ever had," he recalls.

When Pandl moved back to Milwaukee to work alongside his father at Pandl’s in Bayside, he returned with dreams of Egan’s already percolating in his head. Today, Egan’s is an eclectic mix of Irish and American cuisine and Pandl and his staff are always experimenting with new creations such as lobster shepherd’s pie, a dish featured at Egan’s specialty parties. 

"It’s a difficult dish to make. To get the true flavor of the sauce, you have to roast the lobster, then crush it by hand. It’s rather time-consuming." Though Pandl is working with his chef’s and says the creation may make it to Egan’s regular menu sometime soon. 

For Jimmy Pandl, food is a family affair. Just one member of a long line of cooks, Jimmy began his education in the kitchen of his grandparent’s restaurant, the historic Pandl’s in Whitefish Bay. Founded in 1915 by his grandfather, John Pandl, the restaurant has long been a fixture in the community, known for its down-home cooking and hospitality. However, the elder Pandl died only a few years later, leaving his wife Anna with a restaurant and several small children to support. Pandl’s survived because of Anna’s old-world cooking and her ability to make a good, hearty soup. 

Beginning at age 9, Pandl worked in the Pandl’s kitchen alongside his grandmother, peeling potatoes, stocking shelves and learning the meaning of hard work. In 1968, Pandl’s father opened Pandl’s in Bayside, where Jimmy continued to learn the restaurant business until leaving to attend the Culinary Institute of America. 

Jimmy Pandl’s culinary education continues to this day. He is always learning and looking for new ideas on old staples. "It’s a lot of trial and error…ingredients, time of year…it’s all about experimentation," Though tradition will be on both the Egan’s and Pandl’s menus this St. Patrick’s Day, along with bagpipers, Irish dancers and assorted Irish musicians throughout the day. 

And let’s not forget the traditional Irish coffee, served, as Pandl demonstrates, in a steamed, stemmed glass. "The perfect Irish coffee starts with a tablespoon of brown sugar, then a jigger of whiskey, then a rich, dark coffee and topped with fresh, hand-whipped cream." He smiles, "At least that’s how they did it at Jake O’ Shaughnessy’s." 

Recipe for Petit pois and mint
Provided by Jimmy Pandl

1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
50g/2oz butter
1.2 liters/2 pints vegetable stock
350g/12 oz petit pois
A bunch of mint freshly chopped
300ml/ pint milk

Sweat the onion and potato in the butter over a very low heat for 10 minutes, without coloring. Add the stock, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Raise the heat, stir in peas and simmer for two minutes. Remove from heat, add the mint and then immediately puree in a blender, adding the cold milk as you do so. Season with salt and pepper, reheat gently and serve.
 
 

Jimmy Pandl's Irish Cooking class, offered through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education, includes demonstrations and samples of finished dishes. The class is , 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 15, at Pandl's Bayside, 8825 N. Lake Dr. To register for the $42 class, call 414-227-3200 and refer to Program Number 8122-2291.