Sometimes, two heads are better than one. And Rebecca Christensen and Elizabeth Wiley have had their heads together in the kitchen since they were little kids. The stepsisters, both graduates of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., are the cooking wizards behind the acclaimed Blue Vervain Restaurant in Hot Springs.

Executive chef Rebecca is becoming known for her creations based on French-Italian cuisine with Asian and Southwest accents, while offerings such as Black and White Cake with Mint Infused Crème Anglaise and Rhubarb Lavender Tart give a hint of the talents of pastry chef Elizabeth.

"We always hung out in the kitchen," Elizabeth recalled, talking about growing up in her large, blended family with parents Neal and Ola Christensen, who own and operate Hot Springs' Red Rock River Resort, where the 6-year old restaurant is presently located. The two girls took an immediate liking to each other when Rebecca's mom and Elizabeth's dad married when they were both 7 years old.

"We clicked at an early age," Rebecca said. "We just were always best friends, and she is still my best friend. We see eye to eye."

That doesn't mean they are alike as two peas in a pod, according to Elizabeth. "We have really different personalities, but we work well together," she said.

With a crew of as many as 16 to feed, helping their mother make dinner was a common routine. "Mom was a good cook and inspired us to eat good food and to make it," Rebecca said. In fact, over the years, the family ran a series of food-related businesses, including a coffee shop and espresso bar in Tulsa, Okla., a cheesecake eatery in Seattle and the Red Rock Cafe in Hot Springs.

The Red Rock Cafe established a working relationship between the sisters that continues today. "I worked in the kitchen, and Elizabeth bussed and served," Rebecca said.

But it was a family move to Seattle when Rebecca was 12 years old that confirmed her direction in life.

"It inspired me. Living in Seattle, there were so many places to eat. Seattle has a strong culture in food and coffee," she said.

In particular, the opportunity to sample a lot of Thai cuisine, along with local salmon favorites, was important in developing her interest in and knowledge of food.

"Seattle was a big influence on me," she said, recalling the excitement of wandering the Pikes Place Market, a huge market on the Seattle waterfront, as a teenager.

When it came time to consider a career, Rebecca made the decision to attend culinary school. At that time, Elizabeth was taking classes in business management, with no real career plans other than a desire not to be "stuck at a desk in an office." In the back of her mind was the wish to be part of the restaurant business. Talking together, Rebecca suggested that Elizabeth consider going into the baking and pastry side of restaurant work. Four months after Rebecca started classes, Elizabeth joined her at the culinary school.

"Once I started, I absolutely loved it," Elizabeth said. "I guess what I liked about the baking is that it is kind of science-based and very structured. I like to be structured; I like to have things in order."

That preference illustrates the difference between the sisters' personalities, according to Elizabeth. "Rebecca has more of a natural ability to do cooking. My mind is better at following recipes. She doesn't really follow recipes at all."

Rebecca's description of how she comes up with recipes for Blue Vervain confirms her sister's statement.

"I actually just think of things in my mind. I see how they are going together, and usually when I try it, it works," she said. "I just kind of know what is going to work and what doesn't."

It is the sisters' ability to blend their unique talents that has allowed Blue Vervain to rank among the best of the area's finest restaurants. With Rebecca's intuitive ability to create uniquely flavorful dishes and Elizabeth's baking ability, plus her understanding of what is likely to appeal to customers, Blue Vervain has enjoyed success since its establishment in 2003.

"I have to say we have been really lucky," Rebecca said. "People really like everything. There have not been many complaints." After opening in Hot Springs, the restaurant moved to Manitou Springs, Colo., for a while, then returned to Hot Springs last summer.

"When we went to Colorado, we were named the best new restaurant," she said. In 2006, the Independent Paper in Colorado Springs named Blue Vervain as Best Fine Dining.

The sisters are happy to share their achievements, particularly since perfecting the recipes for their menu is a team effort.

"It's always nice to have someone take a different approach to a dish," Elizabeth said, describing how the two refine recipes together. Part of the process is tasting each other's cooking. "What often happens is once a person tastes it, it is 'Yeah, I was thinking about that but now I am sure.'"

Recently, Rebecca was working on giving the menu at Blue Vervain more of an autumn appeal. Among the dishes, some old and some new, she was considering were a sweet potato ravioli; an apple, walnut and blue cheese salad; and a watercress and hot bacon salad with goat cheese and pecans.

"I feel that fall has a taste, and it kind of tastes like that," she said in describing the watercress salad. "And we're doing a lot of brown butter - aromatic brown butter with herbs," she said, describing the flavorsome butter that is served with the house bread.

A number of menu items remain the same year-round, due to both customer demand and personal attachment, Rebecca said. "There are certain things I don't take off," she said. "I've never taken off the Beets & Goat Cheese with Honey Thyme Cider Sauce. I also do a Filet with Chimichurri, a traditional Argentine sauce; I've never taken that off." Other favorites include Cervena (New Zealand Red Deer) with Currents & Huckleberry and a Thai Style Shrimp Ceviche.

As for her desserts, Elizabeth strives to create dishes that are "enjoyable to eat, not just to look at."

"Lots of times, desserts just taste like sugar," she said. "I've been to lots of restaurants with extravagant ingredients and presentation. What I really try to do is have a unique flavor and something that tastes good." Elizabeth likes working with fruits in season - not adding much to them, but enhancing their flavors.

"In the fall, I make a carameled apple layer cake that is pretty tasty," she said. Another seasonal dessert is a blood orange sorbet. And a recipe she developed while still in culinary school - a chocolate beet cake, along with beet ice cream - has a devoted following among local gourmands.

Today, the sisters are living apart, as Elizabeth has a young family to raise with her husband, James, a chiropractor in Colorado. She has trained the pastry chef at Blue Vervain to make her signature desserts and pastries, and continues to take an active interest in the restaurant.

In the beginning, it was Elizabeth's favorite plant - the blue vervain - that was chosen as the name of the sisters' new restaurant venture. According to the restaurant's Web site, www.bluevervain.com, the plant is a "modest little herb growing in the wild waste places of the Intermountain West." In fact, the herb is found throughout the Black Hills.

"I guess one of the reasons I wanted to be a chef is I wanted to learn how good food can be," Elizabeth said. The progress she and her sister have made toward that goal gives the modestly named Blue Vervain restaurant many delicious reasons to be proud.

Sisters' culinary creations are out of the ordinary

Rebecca Christensen and Elizabeth Wiley offer these recipes to those who enjoy making and serving dishes outside the ordinary. With the holidays approaching, cooks might want to try using the Hazelnut Pie Crust for their favorite pies.

Chimichurri Sauce

Serves 4-6

1 cup parsley, picked and shopped fine

1/2 red onion, minced

1 head garlic, minced as fine as possible

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Stir all of the ingredients together. Serve as an accompaniment to beef, game, pork, poultry or fish. Serves 4-6.

Mediterranean Honey Shrimp

16 large shrimp, raw and ready to cook

1 ounce capers

1/2 cup sherry cooking wine

1/4 cup honey

4 shallots, peeled and sliced into rounds

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 lime, juiced

2 ounces butter, cubed

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

Coat medium saute pan with canola oil. Turn on heat medium to high. Heat pan until the oil is lightly smoking. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally until the shallots are slightly caramelized. Move the shallots to the side of the pan. Place lightly salt and peppered shrimp on the pan. When lightly browned on one side flip over the shrimp. Add the sherry, honey, butter, capers, lemon juice, lime juice and capers to the pan. Simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and the shrimp is cooked through. Taste the sauce and add as much salt and pepper you desire. Serves 2. Serve with jasmine or basmati rice and vegetables.

Tinga Poblana

1 boneless pork shoulder, large dice

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 white onions, large dice

1 head garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups chicken stock

1-1/2 pounds chorizo sausage, medium diced

3-1/2 pounds new potatoes, quartered (skin on)

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 pound tomatoes, peeled and seeded, large dice

6 chipotle chiles, minced

4 limes, juiced

1 pound feta cheese

1 bunch cilantro, picked

Salt

Pepper

Trim and cut pork shoulder. Dry the pork and season with salt and pepper. In a wide soup pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking hot. Brown all sides of the pork in the vegetable oil. Add the onions; continue to cook until translucent. Add the garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and dried herbs. Simmer uncovered until the pork is just about tender. Add the potatoes, tomatoes and Chipotle chiles. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Seved topped with crumbled feta and cilantro. Serves 20.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

9 ounces of good quality bittersweet chocolate

2-1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon liqueur, optional (Disarronno, Kahlua or Frangelico)

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Once the chocolate is melted, let set. In a kitchen mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the heavy cream, sugar and liqueur to stiff peaks. Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and whisk it into the set-aside chocolate as fast as possible by hand. Whisking too slowly will leave chunks of chocolate in the mousse. Whisk in another 1/3 of the whipped cream, by hand, until it is almost incorporated. Whisk in the last 1/3 of the whipped cream, by hand. All should be mixed until you can see nothing white, but don't overmix. Transfer to another container and put in the refrigerator. It will last for 5 days.

Hazelnut Crust

1/3 cup hazelnuts, blanched and skinned

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

5 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

7-1/2 ounces all-purpose flour

1-2 tablespoons ice water

Finely grind the hazelnuts in a coffee or spice grinder or food processor, then add the sugar and grind again. Transfer to a kitchen mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; add the salt and butter and cream the mixture until smooth and there are no large pieces of butter. Don't overmix. Gradually add the flour, mixing until the dough looks like little pebbles and sand. Add the ice water until the dough comes together. Remove the dough from the mixer, form it into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before rolling. (The dough can chill overnight.)

Flour the work surface. Roll the dough into a 14-inch circle about ¼ inch thick, flouring the dough and counter as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. You want to work fast so that the dough does not warm up too much. Arrange dough in a 10-1/2- to 11-inch tart pan. Cut away the excess dough. If there are any thin spots in the sides of the tart shell, pat a bit of dough scrapes over them to create an even thickness. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Bake for 25-40 minutes at 375 degrees or until the crust is a rich golden brown color and the bottom is thoroughly cooked. Place on a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Contact Laura Tonkyn at 394-8405 or laura.tonkyn@rapidcityjournal.com.