Thank you to Chef David Burke, Stu Levine, owner at Vino 100…..and Happy Birthday to me!
What can I say? Sometimes, I am just a lucky girl. Recently, I was given the opportunity to observe, taste and pour wine at two cooking demonstrations given by Chef David Burke. And to top it off…it was my birthday! It was really a wonderful way to start my special day. During the first demo, I was given a beautiful taste test of each dish Chef Burke created. His first dish was scrambled eggs with lobster served in an egg shell. In his restaurants, he serves this dish in giant ostrich egg shells but for the purposes of this demo, and to show us what an appetizer portion looks like, he served the dish in regular egg shells. After showing us clever ways to remove the tops of eggshells, he spooned in a mixture of lobster meat and eggs which had been scrambled with chives and tomatoes. The finished dish was topped with crème fraiche and a dab of caviar. The presentation was beautiful and the dish itself absolutely delicious. There’s nothing like lobster, and it paired perfectly with the eggs, caviar and crème fraiche. Dish number two featured his housemade Gravlax. He cures the salmon with molasses and spices. Thin slices were wrapped around pretzel sticks to make for ease of eating. The crunchy sticks with the soft melt-in-your-mouth salmon was really heavenly. Alongside was a little frisee salad which had been drizzled with mustard oil, mustard seeds and most interesting of all….fried capers! Then came the main course, and oh, what a course it was: Braised short ribs on a bed of polenta. The polenta was different than any I had eaten before in that he adds fresh corn kernels along with lots of pepper jack cheese. The fresh corn gave the polenta great texture, but the cheese gave it a nicely seasoned, slightly spicy flavor. This polenta definitely had an American flavor rather than the Italian flavor I’m used to. He seasoned his boneless short ribs with coffee and unsweetened cocoa powder before pan searing them and then braising them in an Asian inspired marinade for several hours. When served, they were moist and so tender. They made me swoon…..really. And last, but not least, dessert. We were treated to a grilled pepper pineapple tort. It was very unique, interesting and bursting with flavor. He seasons pineapple slices with freshly ground black pepper before grilling them. Then he creates a tower of fresh strawberries sandwiched between two grilled pineapple rings. He fills the center with either ice cream or whipped cream. But here’s the best part: Chef Burke made an incredible syrup from fresh red bell peppers! What?! I know….I was amazed too. In a saucepan, he combined diced red bell peppers with lots of sugar and apple juice. This reduces down into a delicious and beautiful syrup which he drizzled over the entire dessert. Perfection. After consuming all these wonderful dishes, and receiving a cookbook signed by Chef Burke, I moved on to a second demonstration. At this event, Chef Burke was preparing similar dishes for a different, bigger audience. The wine shop I work at was responsible for providing and pouring wines to pair with each dish. For this audience, he made a gazpacho soup which Stu Levine, our owner paired with a choice of rosè or dry sherry. Chef Burke then served his braised short ribs with polenta again (which I ate again…don’t tell), and we poured one of my favorite wines in the shop; the Arcangelo primitivo. Lastly, we served a sweet dessert wine with the pineapple/strawberry dessert. All the featured wines are available from Vino 100 http://www.vino100whiteplains.com The audience really enjoyed themselves (as did I!), and lapped up all the food and wine. Thank you to Chef David Burke, Stu Levine, owner at Vino 100…..and Happy Birthday to me! Chef David Burke puts the finishing touches on his Grilled Peppered Pineapple Torte.
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