Sample Menu Cocktail Party
Cocktail Party Filled with Other Chefs
In the service industry, our highest obligation is always to our guests/clients. When those guests happen to be fellow industry professionals, however, there is a marginally extra something-something to that obligation. I can tell you it's because we know how little time other chefs get to spend dining out, or that they know how hard it is, but it's mostly because you don't want them to point fingers and laugh if you tank.
Leek & Mushroom Arancini
Balls of leek & wild mushroom risotto made with imported arborio rice, a white burgundy deglaze, and house-made chicken stock, finished with a 10yr aged balsamic and black truffle oil, stuffed with buffalo mozzarella, and deep-fried – this is the world's most perfect cocktail party food, and our version has inspired multiple marriage proposals among other things.
JamaiCajun Tacos
Free-range chicken is marinated for 48 hours in my family secret jerk recipe (more about flavor than heat) then cooked confit style in rendered duck fat. It is served with a red cabbage and avocado coleslaw made with a Cajun remoulade (a recipe learned from a Vacherie Louisiana Grandmother) and topped with a cilantro and caramelized shallot créme fraîche.
Chickpea and Lamb Dumplings
Chickpeas are tossed in brown butter and blended with shaved red cabbage, caramelized shallots, lamb merguez sausage and stuffed into gyoza dumplings wrappers. The dumplings are pan-fried and served with “better sauce” - our friends at Epic Curing serve some of their sandwiches with a secret-recipe sauce they call “the good sauce”; when we did the food for their employee holiday party, we made our own version and named it the better sauce.
Hot Sex on a Platter
If you've never heard the iconic Tribe Called Quest song for which this dish is named, you ought to go listen to it; that being said... olive oil & sea salt crackers are loaded with a duck, lamb & chicken pâté (pâté is a dish so steeped in history and regional preferences that every chefs' version is almost by definition a “signature” dish; ours is made with a combination of duck, chicken, and lamb, shallots, garlic, leeks, caramelized onions, and cognac). Topped with sliced fresh figs, an arugula chiffonade and finished with smoked dijon mustard.
Octopus and Chickpea Tostadas
Octopus marinated for 24 hours in light beer, lemon zest, garlic, and olive oil, cooked sous vide for 24 hours, and flash-shocked in an ice bath. Large bites of octopus are dredged in our fry batter and flash-fried in avocado oil. The octopus tops a pan-fried corn tortilla with a chickpea and lemon purée, shaved red onions, grated fontina, and finished with avocado créme fraîche.