Family Fun

There's a little known secret where I cook a special meal for me and my staff every Friday night; partly as a sort of treat for the finish of our (usually) busiest night of the week, but mostly because I don't want to make five or six different plates for each person, but also since I am tired of the food I cook day in and day out I end up making something interesting for myself, and it would be selfish of me to exclude the others.

The concept is nothing new to the restaurant industry; it is known as "family meal" because it is a communal meal shared by everyone at the restaurant at the same time much like a family does, but with ironic undertones because we tend to spend more of our time with these people than our actual families. It usually consists of the leftover trimmings to menu items and ingredients "on their way out", which means not fit to sell to customers but good enough to give away to employees...

But for us it's something different; while I often use leftovers, it is only because they are compelling ingredients. I love the challenge of converting a dish that I methodically thought out (and wrote about here) into something completely different as a morale booster, and even though it's added work, it's a footnote of my week that I adore.

Lately I have been using it as an opportunity to tryout new techniques and combinations like with the Semolina Chicken 'N' Dumplings and Whole Wheat Noodles with Crispy Pork Belly, mostly for my own validation, unless I want to try and read through the usual chef kiss-assing that they mistakenly think is what I am looking for. It was after one of these nights that I perfected my Tamarind Barbecue Sauce for this week's special.

I've been playing around with the hybrid American and Asian concept of bbq sauce, and I finally settled on a base of ginger, garlic and scallions sauteed in sesame oil while tamarind pulp softened in hot water that was pureed and strained before being mixed with soy sauce, sweet soy sauce and ketchup (a bbq sauce staple, that's why).

When testing I tried this sauce with roasted pork shoulder but I knew that the sweet and sour intensity would work best with a more robust meat like beef, so I braised cubes of the chuck section in an already rich beef stock made from the leftover bones from the bone marrow butter that finishes our New York Strip Steak, saved for just this sort of occasion.

True to my original test I used a contrast of flavor by using freshly sliced avocado that acted as a sort of fulcrum between the sweet and sourness of the tamarind bbq sauce with my bright, crunchy pickled vegetables like treviso, golden beets, carrots, radishes, goat-horn chiles, red onions - and a little twist with sliced green grapes - that were infused with the flavors of pink peppercorns, Schezuan peppercorns and allspice berries.

I initially made sandwiches with the ciabatta rolls that we use for the Lamb Burger on the menu, but I decided on using little steamed buns and separating the components across one of our bamboo plates, allowing the diner to assemble their own little bites as an entree or be able to share with the others at their table by their own tastes without dictating how I think they should enjoy it.

There's been a phenomenon here on Capitol Hill for about a year now that I've heard lovingly referred to as "Gay Crack", which is any cocktail containing Firefly sweet-tea vodka. Due to my roots I have an affinity to sweet tea as it is, but I haven't been able to come up with my own use of the liquor... until now.

Since tea and mint go so well together, I realized that I could use the sweet tea vodka to boost that Kentucky favorite, the Mint Julep, by first muddling fresh mint sprigs in ice before adding a 2-to-1 ratio of Firefly to Bourbon with a little simple syrup and topping it off with a splash of club soda to help lighten it up (versus practically pure liquor...).

Ahhh, a drink that would make dad proud!!

With Love,

Cheffrey

Citrus City

Am I the only one who feels like the summer is slipping away like sand through my fingers??? I have so many ideas that I have to keep a notebook, allowing some concepts to sit on paper and mature like wine in a barrel or whiskey in a cask, waiting to develop or to be combined with another for the perfect plate.

Sometimes ideas are scratched out, sometimes they are seasonal-specific and have to wait until a chance at next year, contending with a whole new batch of inspiration like some bad reality TV shows. But I love my notebook; it's the journal of my journey as a chef, and a visually literal representation of my erratic mind.

I'm about three-quarters through this notebook that I started at the re-opening of Table 219, and maybe a third of the concepts have been used, but as I near the end of a season I find myself scrambling to use those ideas that I love before they have to make the "cut" next year.

This dish is one of those; a concept cast aside after a flurry of seafood ideas but too good to let slip away; one that embodies several aspects of my culinary heritage.

The idea started at the top-left portion of the page where I combine my favorite spice of coriander with fresh orange zest and juice to make a glaze over pan roasted chicken breasts by first simmering chicken stock with Walla Walla onions, ginger, garlic and bourbon, that is pureed and thickened to finish the bone-in chicken once it is cooked to order, basting with the glaze as it rests.

I then used the idea of stuffing local collard greens with a Cajun classic called dirty rice made with the "holy trinity" - onions, red bell peppers and celery along with handmade tasso ham, chicken andouille sausage and chicken livers to create a southern version of dolmas, or stuffed grape leaves, paying homage to El Greco - where my notebook left off...

As a balance to the sweetness of the orange glaze I used some locally grown chiles called "goat's horn" and "cherry bomb" that I de-seeded and blanched in boiling water to allow their fruitiness to come through without excessive spiciness. I blended the tamed chiles with softened garlic, scallions and fresh lime juice that I thickened and strained into a squeeze bottle to place little dabs of this refreshing condiment as a garnish.

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Before the summer ends I'd like to get a couple more of the sangria variations in, starting this week with the oxymoronic variety of white sangria.

To be honest, when I first heard about the idea of a white sangria it made even more sense to me than the original. The bright, crisp characteristics of a chilled Chablis makes me think of lounging pool-side a little bit more than any red counterpart, but that's obviously the American in me talking. Besides, what I did next will probably get me ousted from any future wine club.

I wanted to stretch the boundaries of what people think of as sangria, so I did a sort of word game. If a white wine has notes of grapefruit, then why not emphasize that with actual grapefruit? Then, if I like the flavor of fresh sage leaves with grapefruit, why wouldn't it work with the wine?

So I simply marinated summer fruits like nectarines, peaches, white grapes with freshly juiced and zested grapefruit along with some crunchy green apples to keep it all balanced!

With a little luck (or lack of inspiration...) I'll be able to offer one last variation this summer, maybe even an interesting rose version, before we start thinking about fall again.

With Love,

Cheffrey

Mused Here

I'm not going to make any promises, but I think that this dish will mark the end of my little seafood run for specials. It's not that I have run out of ideas, I just like to offer a more diverse spectrum of proteins from week to week. The funny thing about it is that this is the idea that I came up with first, inspiring the string of dishes, but I had to wait on a new shipment of long plates in order to give it the proper presentation.

The inspiration came when I was sorting through a box of old pastry equipment; metal ring cutters, non-stick baking pads and this silicone mold that I used to bake mini cheesecakes in. It had been a long time since I had made anything with the mold, so it was like a new muse in my hands. Immediately the size reminded me not of the little cheesecakes and other tasty treats that it had formed for me in a dessert capacity, but that of perfectly cooked, medium-sized sea scallops, and from there the idea just snowballed.

The irony of the final product is that I initially wanted to use the mold to create little avocado mousses alongside pan-seared scallops for a natural pairing of shellfish with the subtle fattiness of avocado since it is subtle without overpowering the delicate flavors of the meat, but alas, I couldn't manipulate the avocado in the way that I wanted without it turning brown, so I went with a tried-and-true alternate combo with some of the great corn that is in an abundance right now. Drawing from one of my favorite specials last year I baked tiny flans by first shaving off the kernels from corn cobs and simmering both into a broth that I intensified by then pureeing the kernels and adding back into the liquid, giving me a rich base that was creamy without the addition of cream. To keep it light I only used whole eggs, along with a some moderate seasoning of salt and pepper to keep the flavors true. I slowly baked the custard in the mini-molds and firmed them up in the freezer just enough to remove.

As a contrast in both color and flavor I used an old favorite: black sticky rice from Thailand. It has a high starch content so I like to cook it similar to risotto - in this case with a vegetable stock fortified with ginger, cilantro and a hint of jalapeno and fermented black beans - giving it both texture and creaminess, but the final product is never completely black; just a very dark shade of purple.

Finally, in an exercise of both color and flavor, I created a simple sauce by blending freshly juiced carrots and whole green cardamom pods with a touch of champagne vinegar to offset the natural sweetness of the carrot. By just warming and not cooking the sauce I am able to retain the freshness of the juice and the floral characteristics of the spice.

The final presentation is just as stunning as I had pictured in my mind, with the flavors just as my tongue had expected!!

As a chef I enjoy going on many tangents with cooking because my experience has allowed me to do so, but as a budding mixologist I realize that I need to focus my thoughts in order to create a solid foundation, just the way I did in my earlier days of cooking. That being said, I feel I need to concentrate my cocktail inspirations into the classical theme with a twist even while my dinner specials run rampant. It's the only way that I can master the style.

So, over the next several weeks I plan to really focus on the variations of more common cocktails, starting with one very close to my heart....

Bourbon is big where I come from, and the general consensus is that if it ain't broke don't fix it, but bourbon has a lot of characteristic, giving opportunity to some great cocktails like the Manhattan, but I wanted to play into that notion and add a little spark by way of an elderflower liqueur called St. Germain that is very floral with some citrus notes, elevating a classic drink into something new while still staying refined.

With Love,

Cheffrey

Natural Beauty

I rarely repeat a special, primarily because the most enjoyable aspect of my profession is the strive to create something new, something better than the last; it is that aspiration to outdo myself that drives me to a higher level of cooking and makes me a better chef.

I was again inspired by yet another dinner on Vashon Island at Kurtwood Farms, where every ingredient that comprises the nine courses is grown on his 13-acre farm with the exception of salt, pepper, sugar, flour, wine and coffee (which they buy green from a coffee shop on the island and roast in a pan just before grinding and serving - OUTSTANDING!!!!). The most memorable things tend to be the simplest, like a mixed greens salad with their own cider vinegar, a poached egg on a crouton or the pickled cauliflower, because the focus is on the exceptional ingredients that they produce organically and sustainably, and are picked ripe and served fresh.

I guess that my chances for future visits could be limited after articles about both owner Kurt Timmermeister and chef Tyler Palagi (also of Spring Hill in West Seattle) appeared in the current issue of Seattle Met magazine (sorry, no link; you're going to have to pick up a copy of your own), but due to their exclusivity (not only do you have to be invited by someone who has been there before just to get onto the mailing list, but in order to make your reservation you have to write a short essay about whatever culinary topic he chose for that month) it takes a little more than just picking up a phone. Lucky for me I write me sum pretty good stuffins....

Which leads me to my next special: a simple preparation of heirloom tomatoes that focuses on the quality of the ingredient; a dish that I now feature anually, but with a few variations....

As before, my supply of heirloom varietals is inconsistent, but what I've used so far are Black Krim, Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine and German Green. To accompany them I stayed true to typical preparations like garlic croutons - made from thin slices of baguettes doused with butter flavored with thyme and garlic - and good extra virgin olive oil, but with slight variations like flaky Maldon sea salt (the snowflake of salt that dissolves quickly on your tongue), pink, black, white and green peppercorns ground to order, and a side of balsamic vinegar that I infused with fresh chopped basil by steeping them together all day.

 

Simplicity at its finest!!!

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Due to the tepid summer that we've had here in Seattle it seems that all of our local produce is on a month-long delay; my tomato plants are taller than me and without fruit. Finally, after tasting the watermelon for last week's drink special, it has the sweetness that I had expected in back early July, so in order to get what I want out of this summer I need to make haste!!

I had this idea for a watermelon flavored sangria last summer but too many other inspirations superseded it, and I assumed that I would be able to offer it earlier than this in order to try out other variations of sangria later, but you all know the old saying about assumptions....

Just like last week I pureed and strained fresh, seedless watermelon, leaving me with its pure flavor that I used to sweeten a blended red wine in place of the plain white sugar that is used to balance sangria. To create the true myraid of flavors that is sangria I first marinated chopped pineapple, green apple, peaches, and orange slices in the same cherry brandy that I infused for the Cherries Jubilee cocktail, giving each bite of fruit a little more punch than wine that they are served with. 

Enjoy these little tastes of summer while it lasts!!!

With Love,

Cheffrey

Tropical Storm Tomato

Now that we're into August we are reaching the pinnacle of the summer vegetable season. Favorites like beautiful corn, vibrant greens and Walla Walla onions are abound, not to mention one of my personal favorites - the majestic tomato.

With the resurgence of heirloom varieties in the last several years it's hard to beat their flavor unless you grow them yourself, and the list of different types seems to keep growing. This time of year I usually start off with a gloriously simple tomato plate with a rainbow of slices with sea salt and good olive oil, but lately I've had this idea brewing in my head like a tropical storm, and the more I thought about it the bigger it became, until the tomato plate was put on the back burner for next week because I was just too damn excited to make this one.

My idea entailed an entree-sized gazpacho dish paired with seared tuna similar to the yellow watermelon version I made last year, but far more refined and with more traditional ingredients.

The best way to make gazpacho is to keep it simple, let the ingredients shine on their own. Since gazpacho is made up of raw ingredients, if you don't use the best ingredients the taste will fall flat. That's why I use heirloom tomatoes for mine; they have the best flavor, and since I don't cook them even tomato purist - who believe that a good, fresh tomato should only be eaten as is - can't scoff.

In order to keep the tomatoes as fresh-tasting as possible I had to first cook my base ingredients of chopped garlic and Walla Walla onions in extra virgin olive oil early enough so that they could cool down naturally before adding them into the mix. For the tomatoes I chose a unique yellow variety known as "Lemon Boys" due to their vibrant color and medium size. I blended the stewed garlic and onions with the fresh tomatoes with simple additions like 25 year old sherry vinegar, kosher salt and white pepper and passed the soup through a fine strainer to remove the leftover seeds and skin, leaving me with a velvety-smooth soup with the perfect balance of natural sweetness and tart.

Traditionally speaking, other ingredients like cucumbers and bell peppers are added into the gazpacho base, but I like to keep them separate, even going as far as creating a cucumber mousse by pureeing seedless cucumbers with cream cheese and a little gelatin before putting the mixture into my trusty iSi whipped cream maker to make a light and airy foam that I sprayed into large ring molds and froze to allow the gelatin to quickly set. Then I removed the rings and allowed them to defrost, resulting in delicate little clouds of goodness.

I chose Ahi tuna again because it is best served seared, or just cooked on the outside yet still raw on the inside, and unlike other fish that isn't sushi, most people can appreciate it served cold. I took it a step further and used its deep red color as a play on ham by marinating it overnight with more familiar flavors like soy sauce, brown sugar, onions, garlic and allspice before lightly smoking the loins.Then I carefully cooked the sides of the tuna with a propane torch instead of searing them in a pan because 1 - I didn't want to lose the subtle smoke in the cooking process, and 2 - I didn't want to burn the sugar that was leftover from the marinade, not to mention the fact that it kept the meat from drying out the way that any portion of cooked tuna can get.

To finish the dish I garnished it with some finely diced cucumbers, red bell peppers and red onions around the mousse and placed a scoop of handmade tomato-basil sorbet on top of a nest of fresh, living pea sprouts for added crunch and decor.

Another undoubted symbol of summer is the colossal watermelon, and since I referenced it in my entree special I thought it would be fitting to use it as a main ingredient for my cocktail special.

It's hard to imagine a more refreshing summer cocktail than the mojito (though I have a few ideas up my sleeve for future use...), let alone a better concept that is open for interpretation and revival. I can - and have - come up with virtuously endless combinations of this favorite, with each one being better than the last. For example...

I start with the true base of the cocktail by muddling fresh limes wedges and mint leaves with ice to break them down and release their oils before adding Bacardi rum (anything better and people complain that they "don't taste the alcohol"), fresh watermelon puree that I strained to keep it smooth, and topped it off with a splash of club soda to brighten it up.

With Love,

Cheffrey

Happy Birthday To Me!

I know, I know.... How long am I going to milk this birthday thing, right? Well, I promise that this will be the last post about it this year, and I'm only doing it for a special reason.

I now have a regular crew that come in every Wednesday night to have my weekly special after reading about it on this blog, and as if having such a loyal following of people just as excited about the food that I create as I am isn't enough of a gift, last Wednesday Chie, Mark and Derek brought me a birthday present. And not just some random thing either, but a pasta cutter attachment for my Kitchenaid because I have ranted about not having one in several past blog posts.

I was blown away.

Not only do they give me and my business their continued support, but a gift from them is above and beyond anything that I have received in my career to date. So, again, thank you guys. It really means a lot.

To honor my prominent fan club I put the new tool in my arsenal to good use by creating this summery pasta dish that I dedicate to my faithful admirers.

Right away I began thinking about the flavor combinations I could do and the first thing that popped into my mind was crab, and since I have yet to use it I decided to go with Dungeness for this one. It's rich and succulent but delicate enough to allow for a lighter preparation. I knew lemon would be a good way to brighten up the dish, but instead of putting it in the sauce I added it directly to the pasta dough, which I made with three parts bread flour to one part semolina flour and whole eggs that made a vibrant pasta that, to be honest, may be a little chewy for some people's expectation of Fettuccine, but with all of the other soft ingredients it's an important textural component.

Now that we have heirloom tomatoes available I thought that this would be a great time to introduce them before the local varieties are ripe enough for a standalone dish. I sliced a few different colors and removed the seeds before chopping to eliminate the bitterness that they can have. To create a sauce, I warmed the tomatoes chunks with Walla Walla onions that had been softened in a combination of extra virgin olive oil and oil leftover from roasting garlic and a little butter along with the picked crab meat, to warm it through. Once the pasta is cooked I add it to the pan with a little of the cooking water to help thicken it before I toss in diced avocado for added richness and creaminess. To finish the dish I added freshly chopped tarragon for it's anise notes and Italian parsley for more brightness.


Since I had promised that this will be my last post in reference to my birthday I had to scramble to get this one done in time for this week.

For my birthday dinner my wife and I chose an unusual place for voracious foodies like us. Those who know us expected to hear that we were going to a place like Spur, Tilth or maybe even The Herbfarm for a celebratory occasion, but since we don't need a special occasion to go to those places, I simply wanted a HUGE STEAK!! So we went to The Metropolitan Grill for my favorite cut - Prime Rib. In the end, even after protests from my stomach, we ordered the Cherries Jubilee dessert that they flambe table-side, and even before the flames subsided I knew that I wanted to try and turn it into a cocktail.

Just like last week's drink I started with three scoops of my own handmade vanilla bean ice cream, to which I added a couple of splashes of brandy that I quickly infused with cherries by blending the liquor with dried, tart cherries just enough to break them down a bit. Then I poured a good amount of "Just Cherries" juice from Trader Joe's (the name says it all) and topped it off with Cherry Lambic for sparkle and fresh Rainier cherries!!!

Enjoy these tasty treats!!

With Love,

Cheffrey

The Art of Subtlety

Last Wednesday was our second attendance to Farestart's Guest Chefs on the Waterfront down at Pier 66 and we had a wonderful time! We offered our Deviled Eggs once again and I really thought that we were going to win the Best Appetizer competition after all of the buzz that was going around about our offering, but alas, no dice. At least we gained some exposure while benefiting a great cause. If you are unfamiliar with the event it's an annual fundraiser for their organization that not only gives job training and placement to the homeless and disadvantaged but also provides over 4 million meals to other disadvantaged while doing so. It's a great thing to be apart of and a win-win situation for everyone involved.

My favorite booths (that I got to try) were Salty's on Alki, Cantinetta and Roxy's Diner (their house-smoked pastrami that they offered both this year and last year was outstanding!!). Though they could be considered our competitors I wanted to showcase them here because I'm proud of the work that they've done and the delicious food that they had made. Even though my special wasn't inspired by the food that I tasted, it wasn't due to a lack of trying; I simply knew what I wanted to do beforehand!!

One of my favorite greens is baby arugula and we get a wonderful organic variety here locally that I use in my wildly popular Sauteed Gnocchi with Duck Confit dish. It is sleek, tender and less bitter than its grown up version but still enough to bring balance to a dish. I love it especially now that all of these great stone fruits are available (like, say, nectarines) because I can pair them together for a savory dish without all of that great sweetness becoming overpowering. By thinly slicing small segments of the nectarines they easily suspend within the greens and give the salad hidden bursts of flavor.

For some much needed texture and added richness I did what only a chef with my obsession for pork could do: I deep-fried thin slices of prosciutto into salty, crunchy and chewy spears of goodness that is guaranteed to turn any serious carnivore into a salad junky. And if that wasn't enough meat, I shingled the plate with fine slices of veal that I spiced with freshly ground coriander, juniper berries, fennel and mixed peppercorns before searing, roasting and chilling. In the end I had a subtle base of flavor that was perfectly pink, wonderfully tender and interesting undertones.

I also added a new personal favorite, wheat berries, to give the salad more heft and make it more of an entree. Wheat berries are the dried, whole kernel of wheat before it is ground down into flour and I have found them incredibly filling due to their high fiber and the fact that you can't get any more whole grain! The only downside? It takes an obscene amount of time to cook. I mean, all of the research that I have done says to simmer them for about an hour, but even after soaking them overnight like dried beans I still ended up cooking them for over five hours in chicken stock before they were perfectly tender. A long time, yes, but still worth the wait if you ask me.

To tie it all together I made a vinaigrette by reducing Californian Chardonnay by three-quarters, allowing the naturally occurring acid to concentrate enough to make a vinaigrette with only a little help from champagne vinegar. In my typical style I blended it with shallots and garlic as well as a little fresh thyme, but instead of using just extra virgin olive oil I replaced half of it with the leftover prosciutto frying oil, giving the dressing another little boost of flavor while complementing the ingredients.

Now that cooking is so popular and the Food Network has two channels everyone is always spouting off the key buzz words "big, bold flavors" and how it exemplifies their style of cooking, but the truth is that it takes a dish like this, with its subtle nuances, to show a true mastery of flavor.

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I don't like to flaunt my birthdays, but I do like to make them memorable, and like everyone else, I still want to get my way. Fortunately for our friends what I want is something new and exciting!

A while ago I promised (or threatened) the idea of making a beer float after we received an accidental keg of stout beer and my beer-loving friends showed their enthusiasm. Now that we have a nice milk stout from Left Hand Brewery on the menu I knew that it would take an excuse like my birthday to justify why I would offer such an unusual drink, but since I make my own ice cream with real Madagascar vanilla beans I'm happy with the way that the two play off of each other: its almost as rememberable as your first root beer float.

To be honest, I don't plan to sell a lot of these due to their obscurity and tendency towards being a dessert instead of an actual cocktail, but to my regulars like the Wednesday Night Crew I ask of you: Why not give one a try? Think of it as a updated throwback to the yesteryear of soda jerks, but with a kick!!

With Love,

Cheffrey

Healthy Fare

I remember back when I was awaiting my admission date to culinary school my father jokingly said: "Nobody trusts a skinny chef." I was twenty years old and twenty pounds underweight; nothing a crash course in classical French cuisine couldn't cure. I gained thirty pounds in two months. Thirteen years later I am literally embodying my father's words.

My weight now isn't so much of a result of my success as it is a result of my love for rich, fatty foods; if there's a Bacon Anonymous group I should be a member. I'm still not a huge guy, but I'm starting to push the index and with my 34th birthday just around the corner it's all downhill from here if I don't make some changes soon, so after I came home from NYC back in May I decided to really concentrate on my diet.

With a hereditary disposition to cholesterol I had already been focusing on chicken, turkey and fish, but that had proved not enough so I had to start focusing on my culinary nemesis: tofu.

Even as a chef I had problems coercing tofu into something satiable enough for a serious meat-eater like myself, but with perseverance and a little imagination I came with some delicious uses, the easiest of which is by using the silken variety as a substitute for cream in purees, which led to the sauce component of this special, as well as the notion that I could create a dish that not only tastes fantastic but is healthy too.

The main focus of the dish was inspired by a Asian-style marinated beef that I grilled and made into tacos to celebrate our server Tommy's 40th birthday last month, and after the great response I realized that I had to let our customers enjoy this amazing flavor as well. The marinade consists of ground, dried chiles, fresh lemongrass, lime juice, ginger, garlic, scallions, sesame oil, soy sauce, and black sugar, a unique variation popular in Asian cultures. I stuck with beef for the special - a Flat Iron steak - merely for presentation and consistency, though it is fantastic with chicken and could easily have been done successfully with a block of "extra firm" tofu if I had the gall to offer it!

Since I had this Asian theme going I knew I could put my new tofu techniques to good use by creating a sauce from two totally different ingredients that are actually of the same plant. Edamame is a popular soybean snack that originates from Japan but is now enjoyed all over the world, but the most famous soybean product is tofu, which is simply a vegan cheese made from soymilk. I used this adjusted thinking to make a surprisingly rich puree by blending the cooked soybeans with garlic, green onions and a touch of wasabi with soft tofu before pressing it through a fine strainer, leaving me with a refined sauce that stays true to the art of Japanese cookery.

To keep with the light theme I decided on a slaw based with jicama, a high fiber, low calorie root vegetable that I tossed with shredded carrot, unsweetened coconut, scallions and sea beans, a plant grown in salt marshes that has a bite like green beans and a fresh sea salt flavor. To bring the slaw together I made a vinaigrette with tamarind pulp, shallots, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and rice wine vinegar. By using the tamarind along with the lowly acidic vinegar I was able to reduce the amount of oil that's usually needed to make a vinaigrette by half!!!


Who knew that healthy could be this delicious?!?!

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In a rare coincidence I am able to offer a cocktail special that actually compliments the dinner special!!!

I say coincidence because I've had this drink on the back burner of my mind for a little while now, and since fresh orange and ginger already go together so well on their own, they will flourish alongside the Asian and citrus components within the marinade.

I wanted to go with a variation of our house margarita where we muddled fresh limes and oranges, but also with the addition of ginger slices and leaning more heavily on fresh orange juice and less on the manufactured triple sec and sour mix, ending up with a drink/food combo that has been called Chino/Latino, but I've lovingly referred to it as Latinasian.


With Love,

Cheffrey