new year's eve
65 food… 35 wine
1.
oyster stew with fennel, turnip, cream,
radicchio, lemon and parsley
Chardonnay, Scarbolo, Friuli, Italy 2006
rabbit and dumpling soup:
mirepoix, bacon and black truffle bits
Pinot Noir, Eyrie Vineyards, Dundee Hills, OR 2007
butterhead lettuce, pickled sunchoke, smoked trout
fingerling potatoes, creme fraiche & caviar dressing
Gruner Veltliner, Hugl, Austria, 2008
tuna tartare with grapefruit, sesame, charred scallion,
citrus ponzu and sesame crackers
Domaine du Salvard, Cheverny, France, 2008
2.
baked local egg in piperade...
pork belly, tiny croutons, manchego
Verdejo, Bodegas Pedro Escudero, 'Fuente Elvira' Spain 2007
seared dayboat scallop with whipped cauliflower,
pomegranate, crushed almonds and a lime brown butter
Chardonnay, Stuhlmuller, Alexander Valley, CA 2007
seared foie gras with raisins, port gastrite,
toasted brioche and buttered leeks
Sauternes, Chateau Roumieu-Lacoste, France 2005
leek risotto with cauliflower cream
and burgundy truffles
Bourgogne, Rene LeClerc, France 2006
3.
roasted arctic char with romesco, chopped caper buerre blanc,
crisped Red Mule grits, butternut squash with almonds
Bourgogne, Paul Jouard, 2004
roasted Newfoundland cod: flash cooked brussels, leek whipped potatoes,
vermouth emulsion and crushed pinenuts with lemon, parsley and basil
Bianco, Damijan, Collio, Italy 2001
rack of lamb with braised lamb leg, polenta,
artichoke and olive ragout, salsa rossa and a rosemary jus
Cotes du Rhone, Clos Chanteduc, France 2007
beef tenderloin with parsnip and potato gratin,
carrot, celery and scallion, Van Winkle Bordelaise
Cabernet Sauvignon, Long Meadow Ranch, Napa CA 2005
4.
White chocolate mousse,
hazelnut dark chocolate truffles and carmel milk chocolate tart
Tawny Port, Fonseca, 20 Year, Portugal
Spiced orange creme brulee
with mini tart tatin and candied kumquats
Vidal Icewine, Pilliteri Estates, Niagara, Canada, 2006
Champagne Sorbet with grapefruit,
Rum baba with raisins and roasted grape tart
Demi-Sec Sparkling, Gruet, New Mexico, NV
Caramel Cake, candied pecans
and butterscotch Jameson pudding
cognac, Kelt, VSOP, France
I am competing in the Athens Dancing with the Stars to raise money for Project Safe, an amazing 501c3 working to end domestic violence and provide support systems for the victims of domestic violence.
The Athens Dancing with the Stars event is their marquee fundraiser for the year and gets a ton of attention. My wonderful partner for the evening is Natalie Cox who is a local attorney and ballroom dance instructor. Natalie and I will be raising money for the event throughout the next three months in a variety of different ways.
The easiest way to support us is to go to the project Safe website and click through to support our team, lucky #7!!!
http://www.project-safe.org/Dancing-with-the-Athens-Stars.html
But as time flies by we will be having t-shirt sales, drink specials, wine dinners, tip jars, cooking classes and corporate sponsorship opportunities!
If you can directly support us then write a check to Project Safe and we'll put your logo on the back of our t-shirt! Unlike many charities we'll give you a lot more than a cheesy mug!
$1000 level
A four course Five & Ten wine dinner for six at the restaurant! Gratuity for the waiter not included.
$2000 level
A wine tasting for 12 people with tapas at GOSFORD WINE!
$5000 level
A six course wine-matched dinner for six cooked at YOUR HOUSE by Hugh.
Must be in Athens.
$10000 level
A six course wine-matched dinner for twelve cooked at YOUR HOUSE by Hugh.
Must be in Athens.
Thanks for helping me help Project Safe and our community!
The southern staple of oyster pie is a legacy item of Thanksgiving around these parts but I also love to cook this version as well (and lobsters are really inexpensive right now). It's a decadent treat that makes a great side or appetizer. The shiitakes could be chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, porcini... whatever the season is showing off.
serves four
oven to 375F
8 slices of sourdough boule, 1/3 of an inch thick drizzled with olive oil,
toasted at 375 until crisp, nicely browned but still with a hint of pliability
2 one-pound fresh hard shell Maine lobsters
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Old Bay
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups shiitakes, sliced
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/3 of a cup of flat leaf parsley, chopped
pinch of red chile flake
1 ½ cups minced leeks
1 cup heavy cream
pinch grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil over high heat. Season with salt and Old Bay. Cook in lobsters for five minutes in boiling water, then shock them in ice water to stop the cooking. Using a whatever your favorite lobster cleaning tools, shell and clean them, reserving the shells for a bisque or something. You should have two tails, four claws and the knuckle meat. Coarsely chop all and reserve.
Heat a large frypan over high heat. Put one tablespoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of unsalted butter in to the pan. Add the mushrooms and sauté until fully cooked. Mushrooms like to give off liquid and you should cook them until that some of that liquid evaporates and some returns to the mushrooms. At this point turn off the heat and add vinegar, chopped parsley and chile flake. Set aside.
I like cream but I am not a big fan of cooked cream sauces so this is a different way to thicken a sauce using pureed leeks instead of reducing the cream or (aghast!) using flour.
Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add one tablespoon of butter. Let the butter bubble and froth and then add the leeks. Add a teaspoon of water, season with a touch of salt and then cover pot. Lower heat to low and cook until leeks are tender, about fifteen minutes.
Puree the leeks with the cream and then set aside.
SO now we have all four elements: The toasted bread, the lobster, the crema, and the mushrooms.
Butter a 8 inch by 8 inch (or so) baking pan and place a bit of crema in the bottom. Arrange two or three boule slices in the bottom and then put a little more crema on top of that. Put down a third of your lobster meat down and then a third of your mushrooms. Repeat until all ingredients are exhausted, making sure you finish with bread and then crema.
Bake at 375 F for twenty minutes. The crema will be bubbly and a bit browned, all yummy like.
What we have learned:
1. I love Old Bay. It is the only prepared spice mix that I use because there's something timeless about the combination. It makes seafood sing!
2. As we learned, par-cooking lobster is pretty dang easy. You could take the same lobster method used here and make a risotto or a poached lobster salad. The trick is to remember that you have only cooked the lobsters half way and they need that next gentle step before gracing that plate.
3.
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