Fall/Winter Menu Preview
While the weather may say iced gazpacho, the calendar is telling think-ahead chefs to build culinary bonfires for Autumn.
Juliet Glass reports.
Ian Begg, Cafe Majestic, Hotel Majestic, San Francisco
"When fall arrives I start to think of quail, squab, rabbit, venison, and mushrooms. These are some of my favorite things to work with. The color palette of my food also changes. Just as trees change color, you can see a shift in vegetables, which take on richer hues of fall—pale yellows and carrot oranges."
APPETIZER: SEMOLINA DUSTED SWEETBREADS WITH WILD MUSHROOM RAGOÛT, LARDONS, SORREL PUREE & FRISÉE. "For the ragoût, sauté whatever wild mushrooms you have on hand with minced shallots and chopped thyme in olive oil; deglaze with a little Sherry and Sherry vinegar; add some rendered lardons, crème fraîche, a little heavy cream, and some chopped chives. Puree fresh sorrel with blanched chives, olive oil, salt, and white pepper; put in a squirt bottle. We peel the membrane from the sweetbreads when they're raw and don't soak or poach them first. A lot of people soak and then poach them before peeling them, but I find if you cook them in their raw state, they remain really creamy on the inside yet crisp on the outside. Dust them with semolina flour and pan-fry in canola and olive oils. To serve, ladle some ragoût into a shallow bowl, top with sweetbreads, then sorrel puree. Dress frisée in a walnut oil/Sherry vinegar vinaigrette and scatter on top; garnish with a few small sorrel leaves."ENTRÉES: RABBIT THREE WAYS (CONFIT LEG, GRILLED LOIN, PANCETTA) WITH SWEET CARROT PUREE, SAVORY CABAGE, PINE NUTS & WHOLE-GRAIN MUSTARD SAUCE. "One rabbit feeds two people. Butcher the rabbit, separating the legs. Mix kosher salt with lemon zest, garlic, juniper berries, rosemary, and cracked black pepper; cover both sides of the legs with this mixture, weighing them down under 20 pounds of weight overnight. Remove weight; rinse and dry legs before covering them with duck fat in a hotel pan; seal pan with aluminum foil; cook in a low oven until the meat is falling off the bones; cool, keeping legs in fat until ready to slowly reheat just before service. For the rabbit pancetta, pull flank off either side of the rabbit; season with salt, black peppercorns, and chopped thyme; roll flanks; cover with a mixture of salt, sugar, juniper berries, lemon zest, garlic, and rosemary; envelop in plastic wrap; cure overnight. Pull rolls from the curing mix; rinse and dry them; envelop in plastic wrap; place in the freezer. Once frozen, slice them very thinly on a meat slicer. Put the slices on a sheet pan with duck fat, put another sheet pan on top of that and then render them until crisp. Brush seasoned loin with duck fat and grill it until medium. Puree blanched carrots with butter and cream and then pass through a tamis. Blanch julienned savoy cabbage; at pickup reheat in vegetable stock and glaze with beurre fondue. For the sauce, sauté minced shallots; add white wine and a bay leaf; reduce; add brown rabbit stock; reduce to sauce consistency; finish with whole-grain mustard and butter. Place some carrot puree and cabbage on one side of a plate; scatter toasted salted pine nuts on top; arrange the three preparations of rabbit in a half circle."
SAUTÉED NANTUCKET BAY SCALLOPS WITH TRUFFLED CAULIFLOWER PUREE, BLACK TRUMPET MUSHROOMS & BALSAMIC/FOIE GRAS SAUCE. "Nantucket bay scallops, tiny little jewels, are so naturally sweet we just season them lightly and cook them at the last minute, searing them on just one side in hot olive oil—they have so much natural sugar they start caramelizing right away—and then toss them out of the pan. Cook the cauliflower slowly in heavy cream; strain, reserving cream; puree with butter, a little of the reserved cream, salt, and white pepper; pass through a tamis. Add white truffle oil when you reheat the puree at pickup. Season black trumpet mushrooms; sauté in olive oil; deglaze with mushroom stock. Sear a large dice of foie gras; deglaze with balsamic vinegar; add rich veal stock; reduce; finish with butter. For service, on one side of plate paint a line of the puree and add the mushrooms to contrast the black and white; top with crispy matchstick potatoes; drizzle with white truffle oil and a couple of pieces of chervil; spoon balsamic/foie gras sauce on the other side of the plate; arrange the foie gras pieces and the seared scallops on top."
DESSERT: CIDER-POACHED PINK LADY APPLE TART WITH PUFF PASTRY, BROWNED BUTTER ICE CREAM & CIDER GLAZE. "Peel and core Pink Lady apples; cut slices three quarters of an inch thick; poach in Pink Pearl apple cider with a few cloves, a cinnamon stick, and star anise; remove when fork tender; reduce poaching liquid until thickened; finish with butter. Glaze a plate with the reduction; top with a puff pastry heated to order; top with poached apples warmed with a little glaze; finish with a quenelle of browned butter ice cream, made by folding browned butter into the crème anglaise base before processing in an ice cream machine."
Frank Randazzo & Andrea Curto-Randazzo, Talula, Miami Beach
"The fall in Miami marks the end of hurricane season. That in itself, along with the fall ingredients that become available, inspire us to be imaginative and creative. The transition from using tropical to earthy ingredients is very stimulating; innovative cold weather dishes are all the more fun to create in South Florida because we spend much of the long summer keeping dishes light and healthier for our clients."
APPETIZER: EARLY WINTER MUSHROOM TORTELLINI WITH IMPORTED TALEGGIO, BABY ARTICHOKES & SHAVED FRESH BLACK TRUFFLES. "Make a pasta dough from semolina and all-purpose flour, eggs, salt, extra-virgin olive oil, and a touch of water. Let it rest. Sauté some finely chopped mushrooms, whatever is market-ready, and minced shallots in butter; combine with creamy pungent imported Taleggio, a touch of minced garlic, butter, and beaten egg to help bind it. Trim down baby artichokes; steam them in a little white wine, water, and aromatics (bay leaf, toasted peppercorns, coriander, and thyme) until tender. Puree some of the artichokes (reserving the rest) and fold into the tortellini stuffing. Roll the dough very thin, put a dollop of the stuffing every two to three inches; seal with egg wash, forming half moon shapes. For pickup, reduce heavy cream; add some Taleggio, stirring until melted, and some butter to help the sauce thicken; season. Sauté maitake or hen-of-the-woods mushrooms in butter with the reserved baby artichokes until golden; season. Mix boiled tortellini with the sauce; place on a plate; spoon fresh chopped chives and the sautéed mushrooms and artichokes over the top; crown with shaved fresh black truffle and a drizzle of white truffle oil."
ENTRÉES PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO/SWEET ITALIAN–STUFFED TURKEY ROULADE WITH QUINCE/GOLDEN RAISIN JAM. "Butterfly a boneless turkey breast, pounding it to about one-quarter of an inch thick. For the stuffing, sweat finely chopped onions and celery in butter until translucent; add sweet Italian sausage (preferably without fennel) removed from its casing. Once the fat renders out, add diced croutons made from a stale loaf of white bread, spinach that has been sautéed in olive oil with garlic, a decent amount of stock, and some heavy cream; reduce; finish with freshly grated Parmesan and fresh chopped parsley. Season the flattened turkey with salt and pepper and spread the stuffing over the middle third of the turkey. For a nice presentation, simply fold the unstuffed side of the turkey over the stuffing and then roll it together as tightly as possible. Tie the roulade with string; season; sear it on all sides in canola oil; finish in the oven until it registers 140 degrees on a meat thermometer. Cook roughly diced peeled quince with some sugar over low heat until softened; add raisins and white balsamic vinegar; season with salt, pepper, and a touch of dried ground chili powder; cool. Serve half-inch-thick slices of the turkey garnished with the quince jam and a drizzle of reduced white balsamic vinegar."
PEPPERCORN VENISON LOIN WITH CHILE-SPIKED WHIPPED BUTTERNUT SQUASH & SMOKED BACON/LINGONBERRY STUFFED CABBAGE. "Remove the silver skin from a venison loin; marinate loin in olive oil, toasted black peppercorns, chopped shallots, garlic, and a few bay leaves. Season loin with cracked black, white, and pink peppercorns; sear on all sides over medium heat in canola oil; finish in the oven for a few minutes at most, since you want to serve it on the rare side. Halve a butternut squash lengthwise; remove seeds; fill the cavity with butter and some fall spices like coriander, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and/or cardamom; cover with aluminum foil; roast until softened. Rice the flesh; heat in a pot to evaporate any excess moisture; whisk in butter, salt, pepper, and ground chile. Napa cabbage is the best for stuffing. Blanch large leaves in chicken stock. Render bacon; mix with lingonberries, sautéed chopped shallots, garlic, and toasted panko bread crumbs to make a smoky jammy stuffing. Roll dollops of this in cooled cabbage leaves; heat them in the oven with a little stock and butter for service. To serve, put some squash puree and a cabbage roll side-by-side on a plate; thinly slice venison and fan out right atop cabbage; season with sea salt; garnish with fresh herbs and lingonberries."
DESSERT: pastry chef Kyle Foster ROASTED CHESTNUT PANNA COTTA WITH BRANDY MACERATED PERSIMMONS, AUTUMNAL MOLASSES, GRAINS OF PARADISE BRITTLE. "For the custard, process roasted chestnuts with heavy cream until smooth. Heat mixture with sugar and vanilla seeds. Bloom a gelatin sheet in cold water; add to the hot chestnut/cream mixture; strain through a chinois; fill ramekins; refrigerate to set. Heat brandy with a vanilla bean, sugar, and lemon juice; let it flame up; cook it until the flame goes out; pour over finely diced peeled persimmons; refrigerate overnight. With the autumnal molasses, I was going for a pecan pie feeling. Slowly heat molasses with fall spices—cloves, a cinnamon stick, allspice, cardamom— strain, leaving it at room temperature for service. Grains of paradise are the seeds of a plant native to West Africa that have a spicy floral aroma. For me, savory elements like this really wake up desserts. Crack grains of paradise in a mortar with a pestle. Sprinkle a thin layer of isomalt on a Silpat nonstick pad; sprinkle cracked grains of paradise on top; cover with another Silpat nonstick pad; bake until the isomalt melts; let it cool and harden like glass; break into random shards. Remove panna cotta from each ramekin; shape with a ring cutter so it has smooth edges; place on a plate. Heat persimmon with a little brandy/vanilla syrup and pile up next to the panna cotta; spoon brandy/vanilla sauce and molasses on the plate; stick brittle into panna cotta; sprinkle plate with ground grains of paradise."
Anthony Bombaci, Nana, Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas
"Fall is probably my favorite season. It means a change from lighter to more substantial foods, be it in quantity or perceived weight. I braise more, and flavors tend to be bigger and deeper. It's when I lean toward secondary meat cuts like pork belly, veal breast, beef cheeks, sweetbreads, pig's feet, and oxtails, which I pair with potatoes, root vegetables, and onions, and juxtapose their weight and depth with sparks of tropical fruits and bright citrus."
APPETIZER: GRILLED QUAIL WITH QUINCE A LA PLANCHA, SOY/MIRIN GLAZE & SCALLIONS. "Remove both breasts, leaving each wing on and then French the wings below the first joints. On each side, remove thigh and leg in one piece, leaving the feet attached. Discard the innards and carcass. Marinate the quail in red wine, coriander, mustard, garlic, thyme, and olive oil. Cook over low heat on a mesquite wood grill until the breast is medium-rare, the thigh and leg are cooked through, and the whole thing is nice and crisp. Peel fresh quince and poach in toasted Iranian saffron syrup, then sear on the plancha until lightly caramelized. For the glaze, make a liquid caramel of melted sugar; add water, soy sauce, and mirin; simmer briefly to the right density—not too thick or heavy. To garnish, cut raw scallion greens on a long bias and crisp in ice water. For service, plate the quince first, then the quail, arranged so the legs have height. Sauce lightly with glaze and scatter the scallions on top."
ENTRÉES: BRAISED & GLAZED BEEF CHEEKS WITH SEARED LOBSTER & MANGO. "I worked in Barcelona for many years, and the inspiration for this dish is Catalan-style surf and turf. First, sear beef cheeks, then season with salt and seal in a vacuum bag along with some veal stock, red wine, orange juice, orange zest, honey, coriander seeds, and star anise. Cook sous-vide slowly (158°F/70°C for 24 to 36 hours) and cool before cutting into medallions. For pickup sear medallions, adding cooking liquid to the pan; because of the high concentration of gelatin in the liquid, the medallions glaze almost instantly. Steam lobsters; remove meat from shells; season with salt; sear in olive oil on a plancha; finish with chopped garlic and julienned parsley. Sear slightly green peeled mango in a very hot pan with olive oil until lightly caramelized. Shingle mango on one side of the plate, place beef checks and pan sauce on the other. Skewer one half of the lobster tail and one claw on a piece of fried spaghetti and place on top of the glazed beef cheeks. We stack them this way so the diner is obliged to eat them together."
SLOW COOKED ANTELOPE LOIN WITH CARAMELIZED BANANS, SALSIFY, THAI PEANUT SAUCE & CILANTRO. "Antelope is very lean and almost light in flavor, like veal. It doesn't have the deep red of venison. I get it from Broken Arrow Ranch in Ingram, Texas, where they are so careful about how they kill their animals that even the legs are tender. Season the loin lightly with salt; seal in a vacuum bag with a touch of olive oil; cook sous-vide very briefly (131°F/55°C for 15 minutes); then sear in a very hot pan with olive oil. Glaze bananas in liquid caramel with a nut of butter. For the Thai peanut sauce combine sugar, rice wine vinegar, veal stock, chopped shallots, chopped lemongrass, green curry paste, and roasted cracked peanuts; cook slowly until the peanuts are quite soft; finish with copious amounts of julienned cilantro. Pan-roast salsify over medium heat with butter and extra-virgin olive oil. For plating, halve the antelope into medallions and place side-by-side next to the glazed bananas; scatter salsify on top; drizzle sauce over antelope, creating some pools on the plate; garnish with very thinly sliced fried and salted plantain chips and micro cilantro."
DESSERT: FRESH TOMATO MARMALADE, BULGARIAN YOGURT ICE CREAM, TEXTURIZED OLVIE OIL & SUNFLOWER SEED GUIRLACHE. "This dessert is about the contrast of sweet and sour. For the marmalade, peel, seed, and dice tomatoes; cook with sugar and liquid glucose until they start to break down. You want it to still have texture and to be able to see the dice. Combine turbinado sugar, dextrose, milk, ice cream stabilizer, Bulgarian yogurt, and some lemon juice to correct the acidity; process in an ice cream maker. For the texturized olive oil, place in freezer for 24 hours, so it turns solid and cloudy (this doesn't work with all olive oils); remove to the refrigerator, where it will thaw but remain solid, with a texture somewhat like margarine. Guirlache is a toasted almond/caramel paste from Spain. In this case it is hyper thin, and I swap sunflower seeds for almonds. Bring liquid glucose, fondant, and a little bit of water to a boil until fondant dissolves; remove from heat; add raw sunflower seeds; ladle onto a nonstick pad; put in a convection oven until it bubbles up, turns a light golden brown color, and looks like glass. Remove from oven and salt while still hot. For service put a few tablespoons of tomato marmalade in the bottom of a bowl; sprinkle with some fennel pollen and micro basil. On top of the marmalade, place a quenelle of ice cream with a little dimple carved on top to hold a small quenelle of texturized olive oil. Stand a piece of the guirlache up against the ice cream."
Gerry Hayden & Claudia Fleming, The North Fork Table and Inn, Southhold, New York
Hayden: "For me, the fall is something I look toward heavily. I love to cook heartier dishes and serve game like pheasant, squab, and venison. I've found on the North Fork of Long Island, people are used to hunting and eating game. I sold a lot of it last year and was shocked that I couldn't keep enough venison in the house!"
Fleming: "I think pastry is more sensitive to seasonal shifts than other foods, in the sense that it's a challenge to stay creative. Certainly in the winter one relies on chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, maple, and citrus, which is in season. The only two fruits I use in the winter, both native to tropical places, are bananas and pineapple."
APPETIZER: ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AGNOLOTTI IN WALNUT BROWNED BUTTER. "Agnolotti are a little self-sealing ravioli from Northern Italy, like little pillows. You don't need much pasta, and the filling has to be very smooth. Make a dough from all-purpose flour, lots of egg yolks, a whole egg, olive oil, and milk. Mix until it comes together in a ball—you want it firm but pliable. Roll out into long thin sheets. Remove the seeds from butternut squash, clean them, season with salt and olive oil, and roast until tender. Scoop out the flesh and puree it with orange zest, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, black pepper, and salt; pass through a tamis if needed. Once it cools, the butter firms up and makes the puree easier to pipe. Imagine each pasta sheet as two halves; pipe puree down the middle of one half; fold other half over; seal with egg wash. Next, with index finger and thumb, pinch the filling in increments to form pouches; separate filled pouches from the rest of the sheet and from each other with a pastry wheel. Repeat with remaining pasta and filling. Make browned butter seasoned with orange juice instead of lemon, some fresh minced sage, and a few tablespoons of chopped walnuts. For service, spoon walnut browned butter over boiled and drained agnolotti; garnish with some toasted squash seeds; serve with freshly grated Parmesan."
ENTRÉES: THYME BASTED LONG ISLAND DUCK BREAST WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE, WHIPPED PARSNIPS & ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS. "Score the duck breast skin and season. Set the duck skin side down in a medium hot pan and place in a hot oven. After about eight minutes remove excess fat from the pan and return to the oven for about another eight minutes. Remove pan from oven; pour off most of the fat and set over medium-high heat; flip breast flesh side down; add thyme sprigs and a peeled smashed garlic clove. Tilt the pan to collect the fat, using it to baste the duck repeatedly. Turn off heat; let duck rest two minutes while basting it with a glaze made of whisked pomegranate molasses, Dijon mustard, and maple syrup. Drain breast on a paper towel. Blanch trimmed and scored Brussels sprouts; halve; toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped thyme; roast until caramelized. Peel and cut up parsnips, discarding woody core; cook in milk and salt until tender; drain, reserving milk; puree in a processor with some of the reserved milk, salt, a scraped vanilla bean, and butter. To serve, arrange a circle of parsnips on the plate; top with a mound of Brussels sprouts; slice duck breast on the bias and fan across the Brussels sprouts; garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds."
MERLOT BRAISED SHORT RIBS OF BEEF WITH WHITE TURNIP/POTATO PUREE & RED SWISS CHARD. "Marinate short ribs overnight in Merlot, garlic, thyme, and fresh bay leaf. Braise in the classic manner with marinade and beef or veal stock; reduce and skim strained braising liquid for the sauce. Rice boiled potatoes; puree turnips cooked in milk in a processor with butter and some of the reserved cooking milk. Fold the turnip puree into the potatoes, adding more butter and cooking milk; season. Heat blanched Swiss chard leaves in browned butter and minced shallots. To serve, spoon the puree in a soup plate; add a bed of chard; top with ribs; coat with sauce; season ribs with fleur de sel."
DESSERT: MAPLE FLAN WITH BACON, MAPLE GLAZED WALNUTS & MAPLE/LIME REDUCTION. "Reduce maple syrup by a quarter; coat the bottom of ramekins with some of the syrup. Return remainder to heat; add cream and milk; scald. Whisk together maple sugar and egg yolks; add a small amount of the hot maple syrup/cream mixture to the maple sugar/egg yolk mixture, tempering it before thoroughly combining the two. Pour the custard into ramekins; bake in a water bath. In a bowl, toss whole raw walnuts with some maple syrup; roast in a low oven. In a sauté pan, cook lardons until slightly browned but not crisp and completely rendered, reserving any fat. At pickup, heat the fat in a sauté pan, throw the lardons back in, and, when hot, hit them with some maple syrup, a squeeze of lime juice, and some chopped walnuts. Unmold flan, top with the pan sauce and walnuts, and dollop with whipped cream."
Lynn Crawford, Four Seasons Hotel, New York City
"For me, the fall is always about special trips to the farmers' markets outside of the city. From my early years as a chef I have fond memories of the beauty of the harvest—fresh apple cider, apple fritters dusted with powdered sugar, autumn squashes, pies made by the Mennonites. This is such a special season to be able to work as a chef. It sounds kind of hokey but it's true."
APPETIZER: LOBSTER/SHALLOT BRÛLÉE WITH LOBSTER/WATERCRESS/APPLE SALAD. "Steam, shell, and dice a one-and-a-quarter-pound lobster. Heat up some heavy cream, lots of shallots, a bay leaf, and a sprig of thyme; strain once cream is well infused; whisk in egg yolks; season. Lay some of the diced lobster in the bottom of a shallow oversized bowl; strain brûlée mixture over it; bake in a water bath just until set. To brûlée the top, grind together sea salt, sugar, and chives; sprinkle over the custard's surface; brown with a kitchen torch. Make a salad of small apple pearls, diced lobster, and watercress tossed with a vinaigrette of apple juice, lemon juice and zest, a pinch of brown sugar, vanilla seeds, chervil, chives, and grapeseed oil. To serve, adorn the brûlée with a little pile of the salad."
ENTRÉES: SMOKED BUTTER POACHED HALIBUT WITH ESCARGOT CHIPS, POTATO PUREE & PARSLEY SAUCE. "Cut three pounds of butter into one-inch cubes; place on a tray in a smoker directly over another tray containing only ice cubes, to prevent the butter from melting; cold smoke over soaked applewood chips and hot coals; chill butter. In a shallow sauté pan, melt the smoked butter, which has a light delicate smoky taste; season with salt, a bay leaf, some thyme, and peppercorns; add halibut fillets; poach. Sauté some escargots and shallots in regular butter; deglaze with Pernod; chop the escargots, adding some chopped garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper to form a rough paste. Using a Japanese mandoline, slice russet potatoes very thinly lengthwise and place on buttered parchment paper–lined cookie sheet. Spread a teaspoon of the escargot paste onto half the potato slices; top each with another potato slice to form a sandwich. Top with another sheet of buttered parchment paper and another cookie sheet; bake in a low oven until golden brown. After removing from oven, season chips well with salt. Cook fingerling potatoes in their jackets in salted water; peel; pass through a tamis, adding warm milk and melted butter. Sauté spinach with finely diced shallots in butter. Make a smoked butter beurre blanc, adding parsley juice. To serve, line a shallow bowl or plate with potato puree; place some spinach in the center; nestle the halibut on top; scatter some escargot chips over the fish; drizzle with the sauce."
ROASTED BEEF TERNDEROIN WITH LA TUR SCALLOPED POTATOES & BOURGUIGNONNE TRIMMINGS. "La Tur is a cheese made in Italy's Piedmont region from a blend of sheep's, cow's, and goat's milks that melts beautifully. Shingle thinly sliced potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and confit them in butter, smashed garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Warm the cheese in a small pan over low heat and add a little cream; pour over the confit potatoes—they will be a beautiful ivory white. Season beef tenderloin medallions well; wrap in prosciutto; sear in clarified butter; finish in the oven until medium-rare. All the classical accompaniments in boeuf bourguignonne are used in this dish. Render applewood-smoked lardons; add baby cremini or button mushrooms, some peeled pearl onions; sauté at the last minute add a touch of butter, minced shallots, diced tomato, some parsley chiffonade, scallions cut on the bias, salt, and pepper. For service, have the trimmings cascade off the beef onto the plate next to a stack of potatoes. Serve with red wine sauce."
DESSERT: WARM BARTLETT PEAR TARTE TATIN WITH CHEDDAR/MAPLE ICE CREAM & SPICED WALNUTS. "Roll out a basic short crust pastry. Peel and core ripe and fragrant Bartlett pears and cut them into thin wedges. Take a flan dish, coat with butter and sugar, lay those gorgeous sliced pears all the way around. Sprinkle sugar and scatter a few teaspoons of butter over the top; cover with pastry; seal the edges as if you're tucking those little pears under a nice fluffy duvet; bake until the pastry is golden brown. For the ice cream, bring some heavy cream and corn syrup to a simmer; remove from heat; whisk in grated cheddar; strain; cool; process in an ice cream machine. Heat equal parts pear cider and maple syrup; reduce to a glaze. Toss raw whole walnuts with a lightly beaten egg white, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and cayenne pepper; spread on a baking sheet; bake until fragrant and crunchy. To plate, turn out the warm tarte Tatin onto a plate, top with a quenelle of ice cream, drizzle with pear glaze, and sprinkle with chopped walnuts."
Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, D.C.
"I get excited about every seasonal shift, especially right before they happen. We go to great lengths to get guests the very best we can, working closely with a handful of farmers. Last year we helped this particular gentleman select the majority of his seeds and plan his crop. We get daily reports on crops and deliveries, and this continues in the cooler months to shape our Greek-inspired menus."
APPETIZER: SPIT-ROASTED BABY GOAT WITH GOAT BOUDIN BLANC, PORCINI CONFIT & PRUNES COOKED IN RED WINE. "We get these beautiful baby goats less than one hour from here. We roast about 10 or 12 a week, serving the legs, necks, and shoulders and using the scraps to make sausage. Cover a whole baby goat with olive oil, season, and spit-roast over charcoal and hard wood for four to six hours, until the meat falls off the bone, the exterior is crispy, and the whole thing is perfumed with smoke. For the boudin blanc, grind goat scraps and mix in by hand foie gras, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and white pepper; pass through a tamis; pipe into casing to make delicate sausages around two or three inches long. For service we poach them and then grill them on the plancha for a little color. For the confit, clean whole fresh porcini, peeling down the stems; cover with olive oil along with some whole blanched cipollini onions, fresh bay leaves, and black peppercorns; cover with foil; cook in a very low oven about one hour; for service, gently reheat them in their own oil, then season with fleur de sel and fresh black pepper. Bring prunes, red wine, and aromatics—allspice, clove, cinnamon, and star anise—to a simmer and then let them sit off heat to rehydrate. To serve, put the porcini and cipollini in the center of the plate and some goat and crispy skin on top; off to the side arrange a few of the boudin and some diced prunes."
ENTRÉES: GREEK SARDINES WITH SHAVED VEGETABLES & CAPERS. "The juicy and refreshing crunch of this salad really complements the clean saltwater finish of the sardines. Fillet fresh whole sardines and marinate them in a mixture of Sherry and red wine vinegars for just a couple of hours. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Make a salad of shaved carrots, parsnips, celery root, or any other sweet early fall root vegetables. Toss in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and mint. To serve, make a small mound of the salad in the center of the plate; it ends up looking like a small pile of tagliatelle—although that's not the intention—and place three sardine fillets on top. Garnish with capers, chive blossoms, small mint leaves, spicy bush basil leaves, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and some fleur de sel."
KOUMBYA OF TESTA & FOIE GRAS WITH BRODO. "Koumbya is the Greek word for buttons and is also a pasta shape similar to agnolotti. Here we stuff little pasta packages with mousse of testa (headcheese), nutmeg, and foie gras. The key to our pasta is the high quality of the eggs. We drive to a farm weekly (they don't deliver) to get eggs from grass-fed, pasture-raised chickens. They have rich orange yolks, which give the pasta great structure and a beautiful color. Make a dough with all-purpose flour, whole eggs, egg yolks, and water, and roll it out. For the headcheese, season whole pork heads and cook covered in the oven with onion, leek, carrot, celery, fresh thyme, and garlic until the meat falls off the bones; finely chop the meat; mix with fresh pieces of uncooked foie gras, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. This should be smooth, but not silky smooth. Stuff little pasta packages with filling and cook in heavily salted boiling water. Float packages in a rich stock made from pork shanks and chicken bones; serve an aged, very firm goat cheese on the side for grating."DESSERT: pastry chef Brooks Headley CONCORD GRAPE SODA WITH GREEK YOGURT SORBET & MAGNESS PEAR. "I am obsessed with everything I can get my hands on from Reid's Orchard in Ortanna, Pennsylvania, especially Magness pears, a cross between Comice and Seckel. They're unbelievably floral. Reid's Concord grapes are just as good. Puree Concord grapes with sugar, a pinch of salt, and malic acid, which helps keep them from oxidizing and also maintains the tart tangy flavor. Strain through a chinois. Put this thick puree in an iSi foamer canister. Combine equal parts labne, a thick cultured Middle Eastern yogurt, and simple syrup; add vanilla seeds; process in an ice cream maker. Thinly slice the pear, seal in a plastic vacuum bag, and refrigerate overnight. This makes the flavor more intense and the texture crisper and crunchier. To serve, dispense the Concord puree into an oversized shot glass—it looks almost like a carbonated mousse—and top with a quenelle of the sorbet. Balance a slice of the pear on the rim of the glass. I serve this with oversized bubble tea straws cut in half. They always make guests laugh, and everybody leaves the restaurant on a playful note."
