BY KAREN BOSSICK

Adam Fisher came to Sun Valley Resort following graduation at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Minneapolis. As with so many transplants to Sun Valley, the native of Mountain Home Air Force Base native planned on staying six weeks. That was 13 years ago.

“I fell in love with the mountains, the people—it’s a very special place here,” said Chef Adam.

Fisher has worked at most of the resort’s 15 restaurants in some capacity; now he’s the executive chef at the Sun Valley Lodge where he oversees the food in Gretchen’s, the Duchin Room, the Pool and Spa Café, the Lodge Bowling Alley and in-room dining.

He infuses all his dishes with Idaho lamb, beef, fish and Idaho produce. That goes for the Snake River Farms Kurobuta Pork Shank that he used in the recipe he shared for today’s Marie’s Kitchen video.

“We have people come here from all over the world, and I want them to get a taste of Idaho,” he said. “Idaho’s volcanic soil, its sagebrush, gives our food a different flavor profile than people will get elsewhere.”

Fisher also applauds the different flavor profiles of Sun Valley’s restaurants.

“Trail Creek Cabin—you can feel the history there. You go to Papa’s Bar and think: Hemingway was sitting here just a few decades ago,” he said. “The Ram is so iconic—at nearly 88 years old, it’s one of the oldest restaurants in Idaho. And the Roundhouse—it’s really crazy awesome with the skiers in their ski boots coming in for four-star cuisine.”

ADAM FISHER’S BRAISED PORK SHANK

1 to 5 pork shanks

2 oz. whole black peppercorns

Bunch of fresh thyme

½ cup garlic cloves

5 bay leaves

5 onions, sliced

1 cup red wine

1 cup white wine

32 oz. beef broth

1 tablespoon honey

Turn oven on to 500 degrees. Season meat liberally with salt and pepper. Pop in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the meat is colored all around. Remove and turn the oven down to 300 degrees.

Pour peppercorns, thyme, garlic cloves and bay leaves in a deep pan. Build a nest by layering half the onion slices in it. Pour the wine over, the mixture reflecting the tannins of the red wine with the sweetness of the white. Put pork shank in and cover with the remaining onions to lock the moisture in while imparting flavor. Finish by pouring beef broth over all.

Cover with plastic wrap and cover that with aluminum foil.

Put in the oven for four to six hours. You’ll know it’s done when the meat begins to pull away from the oven.

Take out, pull back the corner of the wrap and strain the liquid. Pour the juice in a skillet and heat it, letting it reduce for 15 minutes. Add a tablespoon of honey as it thickens, just before you remove the skillet from the heat. Serve this gravy over the meat and the polenta.

POLENTA WITH PECORINO CHEESE

Salt

2.5 cups of polenta

5 cups water

Heavy cream or chicken stock

½ cup Pecorino cheese or Parmesan cheese

Boil water, to which you’ve added a little salt. Then add polenta. Give it a stir and turn down the heat. Cover the pot and let the polenta simmer until it’s thickened.  Turn off the stove and add a quarter cup of cream or chicken stock at a time to the polenta until it’s reached the desired creaminess.

Add cheese and stir until blended. You can also flavor it with garlic, rosemary or other herbs, if you wish.