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Three Courses of Glory: The Open ChefAMe Recipes
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Three Courses of Glory: The Open ChefAMe Recipes
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
It turns out my nightmares were unfounded, as my sous chefs Drew Lazor, Mike Persico and I covered ourselves in glory at last night's Open ChefAMe event at The Dark Horse. 6ABC even dropped by to interview us! Unfortunately it was right when I was wrestling sheet trays in and out of a 400-degree convection oven, so I look hassled and sweaty instead of cocky and swaggering like a real TV chef.
Here, for your pleasure, are the recipes I used to create the three courses that fed 87 people. Since it's unlikely you have the entire Phillies staff or the cast and crew of Top Chef coming over for dinner, everything is scaled to feed six normal folks. After the jump, the links and methods for my three inexplicably successful courses. (Check back soon for more pics and Drew's recap of the evening.)
Sweet Corn Soup with bacon, chive and cr�me fra�che garnish
Serves 6 as a hearty first course or lunch
Bon App�tit's recipe for Summer Corn Soup
Prepare Dorie Greenspan's recipe as directed; but replace green onions with chives for garnish
Goug�res with dry-cured ham, watercress and Dijon cream
Serves� 6-8 as a very generous appetizer or light lunch
Alain Ducasses' recipe for Goug�res at Food & Wine
Prepare as Alain directs; while puffs are in oven, assemble the following:
1/4 lb. prosciutto di Parma, very thinly sliced
One bunch watercress, rinsed well, leaves picked off stems
Dijon cream:� 1 tsp. Grey Poupon mixed well with 2 tbsp. cr�me fra�che
Now Do This:
Slice each goug�re like a sandwich roll.� Dab a tiny dot of Dijon cream in the center of one side, top with three or four leaves of watercress.� Stack one or two slices of the prosciutto inside, close up and serve immediately.
Moroccan spiced braised lamb shoulder with lentils and minted yogurt
Serves 6 as an entre�
Go Get This:
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 lbs. boneless lamb shoulder
1 1/2 cups diced onions, mixture of white and red
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
4 cups white wine
1 1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
12 pitted prunes, sliced in half
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper
Now Do This:
Unroll the lamb shoulder. Using a sharp knife, cut away all of the fat cap as well as most of the sinew and connective tissue. Season all over with salt and pepper. Cut into large chunks all the same size.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large, heavy bottom cast-iron casserole or pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown the lamb in batches until it is dark red on all sides. Set lamb aside.
In the lamb fat and olive oil, sweat onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook that down as well, until soft. Add cumin and cinnamon and stir to combine. Add some salt and pepper.
Pour white wine into pan and scrape bottom of pan vigorously with a wooden spoon to incorporate flavorful browned bits (this is deglazing). Allow to boil for a few minutes. Add lamb and prunes to pan � make sure there is enough liquid in pan that lamb is sitting in a shallow puddle � not totally immersed. Add water or wine as necessary.
Cover tightly and place in 325-degree oven. Allow to braise for two hours, then check that there is enough liquid remaining. Stir well and return to oven for two more hours.
Remove when lamb is falling apart tender. Check for seasoning � keep covered and set aside.
To make the lentils:
Go Get This:
1 1/2 cups lentils de Puy (French green lentils)
1 bay leaf
4 tbsp. bacon fat or butter
1/2 cup diced red onions
salt and pepper
Now Do This:
Combine lentils and bay leaf with 6 cups water and a small handful of salt� in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to boil, then turn down to a simmer until lentils are tender with a little bite. Drain lentils and set aside.
When ready to serve lentils with lamb, heat the bacon fat or butter in a large saut� pan until hot and shimmering. Add diced onion to pan and cook until slightly browned and softened.
Add lentils to pan and saut� until heated through and slightly crispy from oil.
To make the minted yogurt:
Go Get This:
One bunch fresh mint, washed, leaves picked off stems
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
One small container (7 oz.) plain Greek yogurt
Now Do This:
Put yogurt into a small bowl or Tupperware container. Take mint leaves and pulse in a blender or Cuisinart with a stream of olive oil until a rough paste forms.
Blend mint paste with yogurt until well combined. Refrigerate until needed for service.
To Plate:
Get one lemon and wash it thoroughly.
Place a scoop of warmed lentils in a shallow bowl or rimmed plate. Top with a scoop of the warm lamb, then a large dollop of the mint yogurt.
With a Microplane, zest the lemon over top of each dish as garnish.
Serve with a light red wine like Dolcetto or a big, crisp white like Chenin Blanc.
[...] sharing Alyssa’s recipes with you all very soon. Felicia’s recipes are posted over at Meal Ticket, the City Paper’s food blog. We hope that you’ll give these recipes a shot and let us know how you fare with making [...]
[...] the world)• Morning Rounds, May 5th Meal Ticket• Behind the scenes at Open ChefAMe• Three Courses of Glory: The Open ChefAMe Recipes• SUPPER: Grilled Melon, all purpose• GQ's Alan Richman shouts out two Philly spots in [...]
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