dinner 11 - the hidinger haunting

the hidinger haunting of 2009 was a frightening delight. guests arrived in suitable attire including: santa clause, "hog heaven" and a "holy cow", a butcher, a bottle of opus one, sarah palin and a vampire straight out of salem!

guests were treated to a surprise halloween menu. this was a first for staplehouse. thank you to all for trusting ryan to the creepy cuisine! for this special dinner we also brought in the KSUTellers, a professional storytelling group. 10 tellers came and told entertaining tales for our guests. some frightening, some true and some absolutely hilarious. thank you KSUTellers!!!

the menu

warm fungus
liver, beans and a nice chianti
night of the living duck
road kill
chocolate mouse, red wine blueberries and marcona almonds (ryan couldn't come up with anything "ghoulish" for chocolate mouse, so it is what it is!)

liver, beans and a nice chianti
pan roasted foie gras, lentils with homemade bacon and a chianti reduction
a group of deep dark red wines for the night.
night of the living duck
duck confit, celery root puree, beet and walnut relish

sweet "ma", ryan's mom, helped us out for the evening.
ryan's original outfit was eaten by our dog the night before, so... you get the idea.
ryan's favorite dish of the night, "road kill".
step one. a splatter of blood (beet puree).
step two. a pool of maggots (rosemary and beet risotto).

step three. the carcass (braised beef short rib).
step four. a garnish of fried brussels sprouts to bring the dish together (because nothing is scarier than brussels sprouts). muah-ha-ha-ha-haa.
nothing scary here... just good ol' chocolate mouse topped with red wine macerated blueberries and marcona almonds.
our KSUTellers toasting before story time!
scarryyyyyyyyyyyyyyone of our very talented tellers captivates...the crew... thanks to everyone who attended and made the night memorable! a special thanks to shawn and natalie for the use of some photos! can't wait for next years 'hidinger haunting of 2010'! muah-ha-haha-haa.

october 31st 2009 - halloween night - SOLD OUT

october 31st 2009 - halloween night

menu will not be posted for this special halloween dinner. only adventurous palates need apply!

a blurb from the atlanta magazine dining blog

thank you to james from atlanta magazine for taking the time to talk with ryan about his business venture... we wanted to correct just a couple of things that were mentioned in his write up that we think are extremely important.

first, we are hosting our prelude dinners on a first come first served basis, we do not pre-sell or pre-book seats and only keep a waiting list for each individual dinner. that waiting list does not continue on. if someone were to cancel their spot for an individual dinner, then our waiting list comes in handy...

second, staplehouse, the restaurant, is not opening before year's end. we will keep our following informed of any opening dates, but please know we are taking our time and will not be opening before 2009 is over. be on the look out for an opening late 2010!

thanks!

dinner 10

here are some shots from our last dinner.
we had our first party of six. great to have you!

ryan's favorite food! for anyone who's been to one of our dinners knows that we can't go without chicken wings during football season (go horse, by the way!). these wings were braised and then deep fried and served with a celery leaf and tarragon salad and a hot sauce spiked chicken jus.
here is ryan's version of a BLT. braised pork belly, local watercrese, riverview farms tomatoes and a garlic herb mayo.

ryan's last ditch effort to hold onto summer ingredients. an early autumn ratatouille and cast iron sealed colorado lamb tenderloin.


chocolatey goodness. grandma's chocolate cake meets creme fraiche and bacon.

thank you to scott, gray, julie, joel, julie, darren, felicia, jason, john and laurie!

sunday, september 20th dinner - sold out

september 20th 2009

bacon, apple and fennel salad with whole grain mustard vinaigrette, hazelnuts and goat cheese

manila clam ribollita, white beans, lacinato kale, chili flakes

chicken wings

pork belly BLT

lamb tenderloin, early fall ratatouille

chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, whipped house made creme fraiche and bacon pretzel crumble