Pumpkin Soup
Chicken Roulade stuffed with Braised Kale and Pancetta with Glazed Root Vegetables and Jus
Four Mushroom Risotto
Braised Oxtail Vol Au Vent with Mashed Potatoes
The first formal Yolk Club evening met all expectations. Our good friends Harley and Pam attended as well as new friends David and Rachel, who is 32 weeks pregnant. Because of this, she requested no seafood and Pam requested no duck. This presented a challenge in creating a menu considering those are my usual go to ingredients. This obstacle was one of the reasons I started the club, to create opportunities in which to flex my culinary muscle.
The final menu reflected the cooling weather and my continued interest in classical French style--as with my use of puff pastry (homemade) in the fourth course. I first cut a circle shape out of the thin dough, then layered rings onto the circle. As it baked, the dough "puffed" up and made a small bowl in which I filled with braised oxtail. Very old school. My initial concept for the chicken roulade course was to do a reinterpretation of chicken caesar salad--chicken, greens, and a parmesan sauce. But after realizing that I would be using parmesan in the risotto course, I simply opted once again to turn to history. Fashioning the chicken breasts in the roulade style and then wrapping it in its own skin (you may also use bacon or caul fat) was the best way to keep the meat incredibly juicy.
Another interesting note, there were moments during the service in which I actually felt as though I was back in a professional kitchen. The frantic pace, the adrenaline and the feeling that I'll never be able to get this out in time were all there. I hate to say it, considering how much I protest the long hours, the intolerable pay, and the physical toll cooks have to deal with, that it was glorious. You don't know what you got...
As far as hosting a Yolk Club event, I would just like to say that Saturdays are not written in stone. If you wish to host and another evening works better for you, that is totally doable.
3 comments:
Wow, I'm still feeling good from the amazing meal we had. Each course was a real treat. My favorite dishes were the pumpkin soup and the quatro fromaggi risotto. What a great idea
and a cool intimate setting. I've been disappointed with restaurant food so many times so it's a pleasure to have a really great experience. I like being in the early stages of the club as I imagine what everyone else has in store as it just gets better and better. This is not your aunt Thelmas cooking you have to suffer through every holiday...this is what every holiday should be like!!
Amen to the previous comment. Delicious food skillfully prepared, great company, and a welcoming setting. It's hard to choose favorites, but I'll give a shout-out to the succulent chicken (not often that you can say that!) and the melt-in-your-mouth oxtail. We look forward to future events after the baby comes!
Looks like it was another amazing meal! I love your description of what you made and how you had to re-think certain dishes...And this meal was quite different from the trial-run. How ambitious! What range!
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