Full Of Cooking Capers

Marilyn Nergord positively bubbles when she talks about food.

“It’s so much fun. It’s always changing, so it never gets boring,” said Nergord, who presides over the busy kitchen at Capers in Coeur d’Alene (315 Walnut, 208-664-9036).

Take the African-themed dinner party Capers recently catered for a couple who had just returned from safari.

Nergord and her husband and cooking partner, Steve, did some research before coming up with dishes unique to that continent, including a roast leg of lamb called koba. It’s glazed with a pomegranate molasses and then covered with a dusting of finely ground espresso beans.

“I worried about how that was going to feel in your mouth, but it combined with the meat juices and was wonderful and so different,” Nergord said.

The cooking couple have been introducing novel flavors since opening Capers nearly a year ago. For instance, salads built on beets, sides of braised fennel, chicken seasoned with preserved lemons and soups made with roasted garlic are among the specialties of the house.

Each day, Nergord prepares a dozen or so dishes that go on display in a glass case helping to take the mystery out of ordering.

“We try to make it less challenging,” she said. “Too many people are afraid of food.”

It’s all in the way you sell it, Nergord believes. Call it tomatofennel soup and it sits unsold. Change the name to something recognizable, like chunky tomato vegetable, and it sells swell.

You can do it in a kind way, without making people feel stupid, Nergord said.

She told a story about a couple of women who came in for dinner recently.

“Their husbands were still sitting in the car. They didn’t want to come in because they didn’t think we would have anything on the menu they would like,” she said. “I told them we served some meat and potatoes. I didn’t tell them it was prepared with fennel or that the potato was baked with garlic and sage.”

When she came out to check on how the party was doing, Nergord was delighted with the response.

“This man was raving about the ratatouille. He had eggplant in his mouth and didn’t even realize it,” she said.

Nergord, a self-taught cook, doesn’t hold back on her vibrant seasonings to please a mainstream crowd.

“You can’t just rely on the salt and pepper on the table. I don’t like food to be bland,” she said.

A Spokane native, Nergord, 47, came to the restaurant business after raising her son. About six years ago, she teamed up with her husband to run a successful catering operation at The Mission Ranch resort in Carmel, Calif., owned by Clint Eastwood.

“I had never been a big Clint Eastwood fan, but the first time I met him, he came striding across the grass with his hand extended and said, ‘You must be Marilyn, I’ve been wanting to meet you,”’ she said. “I didn’t expect to be so blown away by his presence, but I was speechless.”

The Nergords worked there four years before buying a tavern in Portland and refurbishing it. That proved to be a huge project.

They returned to this area because they liked the slower pace. Now, they put in 12-hour days instead of working almost around the clock.

Nergord’s day starts early, making the fresh bread that accompanies the meals at Capers. Baking was one of her biggest challenges.

“After lots of trial and error, I talked with a friend who’s a professional baker and she gave me a few tips that work really well,” Nergord said.

First, find fresh flour. “There are some good local sources, such as Wright’s Flour Mill in Hayden Lake” she said.

Use spring water, instead of tap. And Nergord has switched to an instant French yeast called SAF, which doesn’t need to be proofed and rises nicely. (It’s available at some supermarkets and at such specialty stores as A&T Specialty Foods in the Spokane Valley and Trip to Bountiful in Coeur d’Alene.)

Finally, she uses an instant-read thermometer to test whether it’s done.

“There’s really nothing mysterious about it. Bread is done at 180 degrees,” Nergord said.

So far, the feedback indicates she’s on the right track.

“It’s just so thrilling, so gratifying to look out in the dining room and watch people enjoying your food,” she said.

Fennel and Roasted Garlic Soup

This recipe was inspired by a cold soup Nergord read about in “Under the Tuscan Sun,” by Frances Mayes (Broadway Books, 1996). It sounded so good, she adapted it to warm up the winter days.

1 fennel bulb, diced

1 medium yellow onion

3 celery stalks

1 tablespoon olive oil

1-1/2 quarts chicken stock

Salt and white pepper, to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed (optional)

1/4 cup roasted garlic cloves (see note)

1 cup whole milk, half-and-half or heavy cream

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 cup cooked white rice

Fronds from top of fennel bulb, for garnish

Remove stalks and tough stem end from fennel bulb and cut in small dice. Cut onion and celery in small dice. Saute fennel, onion and celery in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add chicken stock and seasonings. Simmer 35 minutes.

Puree garlic with a little of the hot stock and blend into the soup with the milk, sherry and rice. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with the fennel fronds.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving, using whole milk: 112 calories, 3 grams fat (24 percent fat calories), 7 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, 4 milligrams cholesterol, 173 milligrams sodium.

Note: To roast garlic, rub 2 whole heads with olive oil. Roast in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour. Let cool and squeeze cloves out of the peel.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: Chef du Jour is a monthly feature of IN Food that profiles area chefs and provides one of their recipes for readers to try at home.