This is a dish that was served at a Chef’s Table last week and was very well received. It is based on a dish that I enjoyed at 5&10 in Athens, Georgia a couple weeks ago. The bacon was prepared by braising a slab of apple wood smoked bacon in chicken stock for six hours at 250 degrees. After the bacon chilled, it was portioned … Continue reading Braised Bacon, Quail Egg, Red Pepper Grits, Toasted Cashew Powder
For this dish I used the “Twice Cooked Scallop” recipe from the “Ideas in Food” cookbook by Aki Komazawa and Alexander Talbot. The scallops were brined in a .05% salt water solution for ten minutes, then cooked sous vide at 122 degrees for thirty minutes before shocking in an ice bath. The scallops were fired to order in a smoking hot cast iron skillet. The … Continue reading Sea Scallop with Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Crispy Mushrooms, Bacon, Butter Poached Radish and Creamer Potatoes
Sometimes a piece of beef is so well marbled that you just don’t want to cook it… That was the case with the CAB Prime beef tenderloin that came in from Southern Foods. Rather than cook it, it was wrapped into a cylinder then frozen over night. The next morning it was unwrapped, then seared quickly in a cast iron skillet in the 1600 degree … Continue reading CAB Prime Beef Carpaccio with Petit Greens, Truffle-Sherry Vinaigrette, Roasted Garlic Aioli, Potato Crisp
This was an interesting dish prepared for a Chefs Table recently, combining the sweet and meaty flavor of sweet breads with a tart salad, peppery radishes and sweet, peeled grapes. I’ve previously covered sweet breads extensively, it’s one of my favorite preparations. The local “Easter Egg” radishes were prepared by vacuum sealing them in a bag with butter, salt, pepper, shallots and thyme, then … Continue reading Veal Sweet Breads with Radishes, Grapes, Local Greens, AppleCider-Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette
The club was transformed into a Winter Wonderland for our holiday party with the help of Travis Dale of Artisan Ice Sculptures. Travis’ website can be found here: http://www.artisanicesculptures.com/ This is one of my favorite events of the year, as each sous chef is given the autonomy to create their own menus for their stations. The result is seven unique and outstanding stations throughout the … Continue reading Winter Wonderland
This is a great dish to sit down to after coming in from the cold of North Carolina in November. It consisted of ravioli with a filling of duck confit ragout, a puree of roasted apple and sweet potatoes finished with cream and was garnished with tart apples, creme fraiche and a bourbon and apple cider gastrique. The filling for the raviolis were prepared … Continue reading Duck Confit Ravioli with Roasted Apple-Sweet Potato Puree, BourbonGastrique, Tart Apple
This was a dish created for the Chef’s Table in the kitchen and is a rough draft of a dish that will be prepared for the International Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany in October. The corn salad consisted of fresh corn, blanched then blistered quickly on the grill before being shaved off the cob. A small dice of red and green peppers and red onion … Continue reading Black Bean and Chipotle Terrine, Roasted Corn Salad, Crispy Peppadew Pepper, Petit Greens, Jalapeno-Lime Aioli
This recipe was based on a popular dish from the restaurant Annisa in New York City by Chef Anito Lo. It is based on the traditional soup dumplings that are featured prominently on Chinese menus as dim sum and has been slightly upgraded here with the addition of seared foie gras and Pacotized foie gras mousse. The Bacon Broth and Pacotized Foie Gras Dumplings have … Continue reading Bacon and Foie Gras Soup Dumplings
This appetizer featured varying textures as well as complimentary and contrasting flavors which resulted in a dish that remained interesting from start to finish, finding different combinations with each bite. The pumpernickel crumble was prepared using Pepperidge Farm pumpernickel bread. The slice bread was fried until crispy, then allowed to dry out further in a very low oven. It was patted dry with a towel … Continue reading Duck Terrine with Dried Fruit and Candied Walnut, Beets, Apple, Pumpernickel Crumble, Blueberry Puree, Micro Swiss Chard
Some great local products come together for this salad, which included haricot verts, heirloom carrots prepared sous vide, pickled radish, golden beets, pea tendrils and petit greens from Lucky Leaf Garden tossed with a honey-thyme vinaigrette and served in a potato basket for added texture. The potato basket can be a bit tedious but is a great way to bring a salad off the plate … Continue reading Summer Vegetable Salad, Petit Greens, Potato Crisp
