Wednesday, May 26, 2010

staplehouse / brick store pub beer dinner

setting the stage. the staplehouse / brick store pub dinner is the first large scale event since "tacos at hidingers" last summer. here are some shots of the progression on the evening.
ready just in time... our guests arrive to passed snacks of creamy chicken liver mousse on pretzel bread (provided by grateful bread co.) with homemade apple jelly and a nice cold bell's, two hearted ale.
getting ready for the first course. ben and our guest cook matt, prepare to fry duck confit (you heard right!). deep fried leg of duck confit.

a tight squeeze in the kitchen this time, we are used to just ben and i, but serving 42 people out of a home kitchen can be a little tricky. a little more planning is involved.
deep fried duck is a rich dish, so we matched it up with a nice bright georgia bean salad. fava beans, green beans, radish, apple and jalapeno with champagne vinaigrette made for a nice balance of fat and acid. the schneider, edel weisse was a wonderful accompaniment to this dish. as the sun starts to set, the air cools, the lights pop on and the campfire beans smoke away. i found myself unable to get away from the kitchen as much as i would have liked, so mike gallagher pulls double duty giving our guests some insight into the beer and food pairings... thanks bud!
next course. the bruery makes a fantastic belgian style strong pale ale which i thought needed some mussels. a touch of sherry vinegar, some bacon to mellow the hops, sweet vidalia onions and nice crusty sourdough.
tell us how we're doing kerry... i hope the smile says it all?!
for the entree course we paired campfire beans, crispy braised pork belly from riverview farms and pickled vidalia onions paired with founders, double trouble. a big but well balanced imperial IPA. the smokey beans had bacon, jalapenos and guajillo chili puree giving a nice strong flavor to meld with this fantastic beer.
putting the final touch on the dessert. lemon eclairs with ginger syrup and strawberry shortcake using riverview farms berries. hitachino, ginger was the final beer of the night. a nice light, crisp ginger flavor with a hint of citrus running through the middle.
my biggest concerns put to rest... wonderful lighting and no flies!! thanks scotty!

very special thanks to mike gallagher, katie gallagher and matt christianson of brick store pub for pairing such great beers with our food. and many more special thanks to our family and friends for helping: scott, blair, kara, the ma, natalie and matt.
the restaurant business provides little opportunity to get away and hang out with friends and family, so any chance we get is welcomed. in addition we want to thank my brother scott. without your last minute heroics the party would not have been nearly as complete. thanks bro!


rock solid!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

sunday, may 23rd, 2010

bells two hearted ale / chicken liver pate with apple jelly
schneider edel weisse / duck confit with salad of georgia beans, apples and jalapeno, warm butter vinaigrette
the bruery mischief / mussels, bacon, vidalia onions, sherry vinegar, guajillo butter, sour dough bread
founders double trouble / crispy pork belly, campfire beans and malt vinegar pickled onions
hitachino ginger / blenheim strawberry short cake and lemon eclairs

best laid plan: while we make every effort to stick to the menu, we are committed to serving superlative ingredients, so slight changes may occur. there will be no substitutions for food or alcohol due the complexity of this event.

Monday, May 17, 2010

dinner 20

dinner 20... we start this one off with a staplehouse take on a classic. no need to reinvent the wheel here. caesar salad is something we all grew up with. we just replaced the croutons with a piece of garlic bread and the shriveled brown anchovies with spanish white anchovies. some local greens from rock star farms and you are good to go.a rare, out of football season appearance for chicken wings, but i'm becoming desperate. house made kimchi from rock star farms pak choi, colonel recipe fried chicken wings and a sesame seed ponzu. i'm not a big fusion cuisine guy, but something about fried chicken and kimchi makes sense.a pacific northwest favorite, this cioppino was comprised of roasted tomato broth, prince edward island mussels, peekytoe crab, grouper and toasted bread with rouille.
braised ox tail with baby rainbow chard and a carrot potato puree. hearty for this time of year, but you gotta love braised meat and red wine.
strawberries are starting to pop! riverview farms produces some of the best we have ever had. light airy shortbread, macerated berries, whipped cream and a touch of mint.
thank you to (going clockwise starting at noon): julian, sean, austin, kathryn, sarah, aimee, drew, katie, lisa and bruce!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

sunday, may 16th - SOLD OUT

sunday, may 16th, 2010

staple caesar, giant crouton, red romain hearts, spanish anchovy, parmesan
colonel recipe wings, pak choi kimchi
cioppino, roasted tomato crab broth, mussels, potato, white fish and rouille toast
red wine braised ox tail, baby rainbow chard, carrot potato purée
strawberry short cake


best laid plans: while we make every effort to stick to the menu, we are committed to serving superlative ingredients, so slight changes may occur. there will be no shellfish substitutions for this dinner.