Brunch is always one of those meals you love to eat but never think about cooking yourself. It requires getting up early after a long night of doing things to yourself that were probably inappropriate and then cutting stuff with sharp things and cooking things near hot stuff. It is really the realm of Dad’s and those braver than I.
That being said the morning after our Harvest Party in Boston we decided to take a hand at cooking without sleep and having a many cocktail instead of water to properly ride that dog home. Wow that was tough to write and to read I am sorry.
We wrangled up a local by the name of Heather Walleston, who has been by far one of the most influential forces in my culinary pursuits and education. We chatted on some ideas and built a nice little menu that was able to blend sweet and savory with the right amount of liquor to get us in proper shape for the ride back to Brooklyn.
Menu:
1. Black Grits and Butter Poached Shrimp with a Charred Corn Gremolata
2. Poached Scrambled Eggs and Ricotta with Wild Boar Potatoes O’Brien and Radish and Fennel Salad
3. French Toast Suzette with Orange Butter and Brandy Syrup, Meyer Lemon Pot de Crème
4. Melon Terrine and Tomato Salad with Mozzarella and a spiced balsamic reduction
Menu created with Daniel Castaño and Heather Walleston.
Homemade bitters for the Negronis provided by Eugene Edele.
Photo Christina Wegs © 2008 www.christinawegs.com.
Unless unlabeled then I took them all by myself!
Black Grits and Butter Poached Shrimp with a Charred Corn Gremolata
Our obsession with black things seems to be growing by the minute. The light sea taste from the black grits was delightful when paired with the sweet buttery shrimp. We hoped that charred corn Gremolata would give the dish a little lightness and sparkle. Bring some acid and get some heavy nonsense out of the way.
Photo Christina Wegs © 2008 www.christinawegs.com.
Finished with a touch of black Cypriote salt
Poached Scrambled Eggs and Ricotta with Wild Boar Potatoes O’Brien and Radish and Fennel Salad
Home making ricotta is easy and creates such a superb richness that it is something I wish to teach to everyone I meet. These poached scrambled eggs started as a crostini topping with James, originally done with duck eggs and topped with a little olive oil and chives, but in this form the suppleness from the poached eggs and the richness from the ricotta played well with the brightness from the radish and fennel salad and the salt and savory of the hash.
Photo Christina Wegs © 2008 www.christinawegs.com
French Toast Suzette with Orange Butter and Brandy Syrup, Meyer Lemon Pot de Crème
Heather was all over this dish with amazingness. The suzette started off as crepes and then moved to toast with a stroke of challa. There seems to be some fennel in there for lovelyness
Photo Christina Wegs © 2008 www.christinawegs.com
These were oranges of some interesting variety, the name of which, I have totally forgotten. (look at me not ending that sentence with a preposition!)
This little iceberg looking wedge was the French toast. We cut the bread with a cube shape and battered it all lovely getting the juice as deep as we could. It was then topped with the pompadour of orange butter and set to sail.
The bandy syrup was almost as dazzling as Mark Low’s whisky syrup and paired well with the orange in everything.
After we cut the cube from the challa we buttered, compressed and toasted the leftover bread and made crisp squares that were filled with the Pot de Crème.
Heather double fisting the whisking situation
Photo Christina Wegs © 2008 www.christinawegs.com
Melon Terrine and Tomato Salad with Mozzarella and a spiced balsamic reduction
Brave little soldiers getting ready to be glued into nice bricks of melon terrine
Photo Christina Wegs © 2008 www.christinawegs.com
