Jamison Lamb

It's funny that I first heard about Jamison Farm when I was in South Carolina and read that Thomas Keller was using their lamb.

Now that it's 30 miles away, well it's still taken me awhile to get around to it.

I tried before, but was afraid to spend the money and It seemed like a hassle to get the product to us, but that was just me being a penny pincher. I opted for one of the cheaper cuts of the animal, but by far one of the favorites. Everybody loves slow cooked food that's really been given personal time and love to make it wonderful.

I rubbed these guys down with Garam Masala and braised for four hours in a stock filled with Eucalyptus leaves and a sachet of Ras El Hanout , served with Feta Orzo, Carrots and Parsnips and a dried Niciose Olive Gremolata.

Duck and Rabbit

Just a couple new dishes.
We've entered into our really slow period, so that makes it hard (and easy) to put certain things on the menu.
During the summer I've found it necessary to put simpler items on the menu for the pleasure of the clientele we get during this time (mostly theatre goers that have already spent a 40 or so dollars on a ticket and want to eat quickly)and to ensure speed coming off the line.
But now, is usually when we get a little more creative and daring trying to keep the diner coming back week to week to try something different.
Coming off of a lite and fresh Salmon/ Fillet Mignon thrived clientele and menu, it's fun to play around at this time.
Fig En Croute, Walnut battered Rabbit Loin, Balsamic Braised Cabbage, Carrot Emulsion and Chocolate Pretzel.

With smoker now out back, I've been smoking some of my favorite items.
Smoked Duck salad with warm Beets, Goat Cheese, Cress and Juniper Puree.
The duck was cured in a mixture of Pink Salt, Brown sugar, soy powder, Fennel and Coriander.

Alinea The Cook Book

When Grant Achatz stated at the StarChefs.com congress that his book would be out by early October, everyone was very excited. It was mentioned many times during the three day event. It was explained that the shipment was being unloaded as we sat and listened to him speak.
He also explained to the ones that pre-ordered over a year ago that they may see copies on shelves or on the internet , but those who had the patience would be rewarded on October 13th with Signed copies of the book.
I've waited over a year, I just opened it today and I haven't really looked at it yet. I've waited this long, I can wait until I have enough time to sit down and read the whole thing. I know that starting it will turn into getting no sleep.

Audi Coast to Coast

We mostly do weddings.

There's nothing wrong with that, except that I come from former jobs that cater to the rich.

So, I'm used to the week and a half of feeding the NY Knicks, the Week when the Jeep Liberty was introduced, The Spoleto Festival , you know, these type of things.

But, for the past two years (that's right, friday the 10th will be my second year here at the restaurant and in PA) I've been mainly doing weddings.

It was such a nice change to think that other people know we exist. Sure they were all speaking German and where here for the free buffet on their way to their free dinner in Cleveland, but it felt like we had a chance to reach out to another group. People that would in no way have imagined they would have been pulling off at that one red light in a town that has only one red light off of one of the oldest highways in America and eating in our restaurant.

I'm ashamed to say it, but I know in my heart it's true, I put more into this little buffet of theirs...I cared more. But, I think they cared more. There was no one women in that one hugely expencive gowns their for her perfect night that her family put themselves into debt for. There was no drunken grandmother of the groom that wanted to bitch about her prime rib being bloody. No shit faced best man trying to give a speach while eveyone's food is getting cold.

No, just 1.7 million dollars worth of Audi out my kitchen back door.

The Daily American

In finishing up the "Come to Where Fresh Is" dinner,
I get my chickens from a local farm, Myers Poultry , Diane is awesome at getting me birds pretty much any time of year and any time of day really. On the current menu I have some southern roots remnants with fried chicken and collards. For this evenings dinner I did Diane's chicken two ways, I took my favorite part of the thigh (the larger mussel from the outer side) and gave it a traditional buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce brine over night then breaded it with our own breading mixture. Nothing special really, but who doesn't love fried chicken? Especially if you're like me and a thigh man. I served the fried thigh over my favorite collards. The recipe for the collards is a combination of what Jeff and I used to make at Charleston Chops and what Chef Bob Wagonner used to make at Charleston Grill.
There's a swipe of smoked acorn squash puree (I can't tell you how amazing this puree smells, like smoked buttered popcorn on steroids).
I slow poached the breast in some brewed tea, sliced and served on top of the chocolate ancho sausage.
When trying to utilize local farmers, I finally got in contact with a local bison farm....only too late for the dinner. But, I have them on hand to use in the future. In doing these ribs, I wanted so bad to have the resources of other chefs, it's hard not to want all the latest gadgets to do these amazing things you read about with amazingly expensive pieces of equipment. But...then I realized, I have what some may remember...an alto-sham. A very familiar oven for cooking and holding prime ribs for steak houses or banquet facilities. Well, these ribs where braised at a constant 180 degrees for 22 hours in birch beer. The braising liquid was then turned into a fig bbq, the plate finished with smoked cauliflower, raisins and brussel sprouts. You can't see it here but there's a caramel spoon bread under the rib.
The last course was a bitch.
It came down to crunch time (we also had about 800 ppl in banquets before this dinner was to take place, time to play and experiment was extremely limited) and still no dessert. I wanted to do two, but damn we didn't even have enough plates to do everything I wanted to do. This was going to be an introduction to fall, Pumpkin Pie Noodles with Spiced Apple Gelee and vanilla ice cream from a local supply. Valley Dairy honestly has some of the best ice cream I've ever had and their original factory is about five minutes from my house.


Another hard part about this dish was something coming from the Starchefs congress in NY last month. Watching Heston Blumenthal pour scented liquid over dry ice for the whole audience to enjoy got the idea just stuck in my head. It's such an easy and fun addition, except for finding the dry ice that is. Ed, my sales rep from Reinhart always comes through...60 pounds worth through.
So, dry ice was placed in the outer bowl and in front of every diner was a "light bulb" with our logo on it filled with Chai tea and other spices. It was placed there prior to them ever sitting down, so as the last dish was served I was explaining to the room what to do with their party favor.
It worked out pretty well. It's hard to fit dinners like this into a tight schedule and small staff, but damn if doesn't feel good when it all comes together. It's a rewarding life to feed others.

A recap of the evening can be read here: http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/10/05/news/news/news221.txt

Wascilly Wabbit

The Third course for the "come to where fresh is" dinner came from a conversation with Carrie while channel surfing and stopping on the Cartoon Network. I can't help but think about watching Woody Wood Pecker and Bugs Bunny on the wall of my Mom's parents house on Reel to reel with no sound, just cartoons and their nemisis.

So, when I thought of this dish, I had Bugs Bunny on my mind and Elmer Fudd.

This is Rabbit Tenderloin wrapped in cabbage (rabbits eat cabbage), Bugs Bunny always had a carrot in his mouth....so, carrot reduction (painted on the plate), Potatoes cooked in carrot juice (fresh carrot juice), carrots cooked in carrot juice,........the Hassenpheffer was an issue.(Elmer Fudd always wanted to make it.)...it was pretty strong.

I took White, Black and Pink Peppercorns and pressure cooked them in Brandy, veal stock and cream then pureed it.

The finished dish got two dots of this puree.

Hot Guacamole

The second course for the "Come to Where Fresh is" dinner was focused on salsa. When I think of a true example of what "fresh" is, I think about salsa. I remember the first time I had fresh salsa, it was at a fellow cooks house during a party he was throwing.

I may have been a little behind when it came to trying new foods when I was younger. I grew up like most kids, eating a lot of foods out of cans, boxes, freezers and nearby pizza shops.

My dad had a garden from time to time and it produced fresh produce, but we didn't know about cilantro or cumin.

So, now, when I think about freshness I can't help but go back to picking up a familiar tortilla chip and scooping up what was "salsa" (not like the salsa I was used to from a jar), and just being completely blown away. Something as simple as salsa had me completely lost for words and feeling very ignorant to what I was being exposed to. When I asked Bill (I think that's what his name is) where he got the salsa, he said "from my back yard". It was the freshest of anything at that point that I had every tasted. It was amazing, like it was just mixed minutes before hand with all the flavors at their absolute peak.

My interpretation is a little different.

There's a hot Guacamole cube on top of a fresh slice of Lambert Farms heirloom tomato, topped with whipped clear salsa and a dehydrated heirloom tomato, along with a "tortilla chip" (toasted tortilla mixed with Isomalt) and some cilantro puree.



The flavors are there and familiar to mostly everyone, hopefully by now, but the textures are different and altered to give the brain a new reference when thinking about the familiar.

Some may think this silly and completely unnecessary, and I've been battling myself to these same reasons and thoughts, but I do think it's important to connect with diners on new levels. To introduce new ways of thinking about things. What limits do we put on ourselves forever if we don't alter what has always just been accepted?

I personally like to think that a dish, any dish, can be ripped apart to it's core ingredients, textures, techniques, flavors and put back together to represent an option a new approach.

Beet Consomme

So, alot of people know this one by now.








I just thought the after picture looked like a crime scene.
After adding gelatin to the beet stock, letting it freeze and then thawing it over a cheese cloth trampoline the stock is






(not as clear as this one)












The stock oxidized pretty quickly. But still tasted really good, so I put some beet noodles and goat cheese noodles.