I did this dish a couple months ago when soft shells first came into season; it was like summer on a plate. The hash is composed of house made andouille sausage, black eyed peas, fresh corn, celery and red bell peppers. What I do with this is render the andouille first, remove it from the heat, then sauté the celery and red peppers in the … Continue reading Corn Flake Crusted Softshell with Southern Summer Hash

Here’s a great appetizer for the summer menu: Lobster, Avocado and Mango Napoleon with Crème Fraiche and Citrus Caviars. I used lobster claw and knuckle meat, diced and tossed lightly with citrus vinaigrette. The avocado is a diced with a little citric acid folded through to keep it from turning brown quickly, but without adding moisture. The mango is diced and tossed with just a … Continue reading Lobster, Avocado and Mango Napoleon

Shrimp cocktail is a dish that I will never be able to shake. No matter where you go or what kitchen you work in, someone is going to want shrimp cocktail. So, might as well make it interesting. This is poached shrimp with horseradish royale, tomato syrup, candied lemon zest and local micro greens. I usually wouldn’t list “microgreens” as a component of the dish … Continue reading Deconstructed Shrimp Cocktail

After working on the Bastille Day salad (Salad Lyonnaise, July 13th) I wasn’t extremely satisfied with the final product. It didn’t flow very well and seemed a little “contrived” somehow. This iteration pays a little more respect to it’s roots in traditional French cuisine by placing the salad and egg in a crouton ring. We also ended up with some outstanding heirloom grape tomatoes from … Continue reading Lyonnaise Salad redux

Doing some entertaining this summer? Check out these little beauties. These are cornets filled with parmesan mousse, topped with tomato powder and finished with fried basil leaves. For the parmesan mousse, it will only be as good as the parmesan that you start with. Please do not use the grated junk that comes in a bag. It’s only good for table tops in greasy pizza … Continue reading Parmesan-Reggiano Mousse Cornets with Tomato Powder

I just tried this pork belly dish out last night; it was inspired by a similar dish from Alinea. Tasting this dish is like hearing Jimi Hendrix for the first time. And not that “Cross Town Traffic” junk, I’m talking “Voodoo Child”. Here’s how it breaks down:This is a chipotle and brown sugar cured pork belly, topped with pickled vegetables, enrobed in barbecue spiced caramel. … Continue reading Chipotle Cured Caramel Bacon with Pickled Vegetables

Bastille Day is a holiday observed in France every year on July 14th to celebrate the uprising of their modern nation. On July 14th 1789 the French people stormed the Bastille, the legendary prison in Paris and a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. We in the kitchen feel a bit of kinship with the French since we inherited their classical techniques and brigade … Continue reading Happy Bastille Day!

Let’s face it, people who make a career of working in kitchens aren’t normal to begin with. Every once in awhile it’s good for the soul to throw away convention and make something as weird as we sometimes are. This dish is “The Goose and the Golden Egg”. The “goose” in this dish being a foie gras custard. Technically the foie gras we use is … Continue reading Goose and the Golden Egg

This is an entrée that was created for a wine dinner several months ago. It is “Prime CAB New York Strip with Onion Fondu, White Cheddar Gougere, Wild Asparagus, Potato Puree”. The New York Strip on this dish deserves an article of it’s own one day…It is USDA certified Prime, genetically verified Angus, hormone-free, antibiotic-free and is corn-fed up until the last two weeks before … Continue reading Prime Angus New York Strip with Wild Asparagus, Potato Puree, Onion Fondu and White Cheddar Gougere

There’s nothing I hate more than “palate fatigue”, eating so much of the same thing in one sitting that you become completely de-sensitized to the experience. I want our guest to find a new flavor or texture with every bite, and then have them finish right before they are satisfied…hopefully they are still thinking about the last course when the next one comes along. One … Continue reading Molasses Glazed Smoked Scallop with Truffled Corn Jus, Micro Basil, Crisp Shiitakes