Hello from Sunny South Carolina! Actually it is raining as I write this, but it certainly isn't snowing. I'm spending a bit of time in our beautiful Tidepointe community to help out the kitchen, and I'm already homesick. A bit. Hope everything has been going well, Jesus and David know what they are doing and I have all the confidence in the world that you are all being well taken care of. This will be somewhat brief, as I am using a borrowed laptop and I don't want to go into too much detail as there are always last minute changes that I might not know about being away.
The Soup of the week is Potato and leek, with smoked salmon. Good one for chilly days that will hopefully end soon, finished with a bit of cream and fresh dill I think you will like it.
The appetizer this week is our own Jesus Martinez's Venison Sopes. This dish is reminiscent of his home in Acapulco, and every time he goes back he tells me of the wonderful Barbacoa that his family makes. Now a Sope is like a tostata but thicker and made from fresh Corn Masa. He made this for me before I left so I know you will like it. For the Barbacoa, venison is slowly braised with spices until it is tender and delicious with Guajillo, Ancho and Arbol chilies to give it warmth but it's not too spicy. Spooned onto the crispy tortilla, Topped with House made Salsa Verde, and Cotija cheese, this one is really nice and I hope you will love it. If you do, please be sure and let him know. This one is being enjoyed this week all across the company, so I will get to taste it too.
The cheese this week is Burrata. This is a fresh cheese, with an outer shell of fresh mozzarella, and an inner filling of Stracciatella- a soft buffalo milk cheese that is stretched and shredded. We haven't tried this one before, so I am curious to see how you'll like it. I am recommending a Rose wine with this one, ask Lora what we have.
At Dinner, we have Pan Seared Trout with Sauteed baby kale, cannellini beans, in Bacon broth. These beans are an Italian white bean, similar to a navy bean but larger, softer and creamier. This would be excellent with Pinot Grigio.
We have a Beef Short Rib, braised in red wine and topped with Gremoulata, served with roasted winter vegetables, and Cheddar mashed potatoes. Now a gremoulata is a mixture of finely chopped herbs and citrus zest, most commonly served with a slow cooked meat. The bright fresh flavor helps to cut the rich flavor of the beef, so it doesn't present as heavy or too fatty. Definitely try this with a Zinfandel.
We have roasted Marinated Game Hens, with Ancho chili sauce, medallion potatoes, and steamed Broccolini. A game hen sounds exotic, but really it is just a small breed of chicken. It's nice because we serve half a hen with each order, so you can have both light and Dark meat. Chianti is the order of the day here, bold enough to stand up to the sauce but not too tannic or overpowering.
The Vegetarian dish this week is a pasta, with Rotini, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Cherry Tomatoes in a light sun dried tomato cream Garlic bread goes with this and maybe a Chardonnay.
Speaking of pasta, we also have a Rigatoni pasta with Marsala cream, pulled chicken, roasted Mushrooms and caramelized onions, If any of these items are not your thing, just ask that they be omitted.
For Nightly specials, look for Pan Seared Sea Bass, Kung Pao Beef, Dry Aged Burger, Lamb Chops, and a Grilled New York Strip.
At Lunch, look for Meatloaf, Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Guajillo Brisket, Steak Frites, Carved Turkey and Baked Snapper
I look forward to seeing you all again soon. Say hello to the staff for me and please encourage them, they work very hard to make all of us happy.
Please don't forget that Jesus will be leading the Culinary Corner on Monday morning at 10 am in the Dad Clark bar.
