Red Hat's Party!

Bright colored blouses, flamboyant scarves, subtle hats (not!), the Red Hatter's were here for a night to remember!

Chef Jeff Radcliffe-Nelson joined us and prepared a beautiful menu.

The menu was to start with Anti-Pasta Skewers, but the Red Hatter's insisted that he start with dessert and work his way back!

Actually, the Strawberry Zangeray cake did need to set up before being served so some time was spent getting this ready at the start of the night. Now, onto the skewers! The bread was toasted....

and fresh basil was separated from the stems. Thanks Jane.

Mozzarella and fresh tomato and the basil were aligned and skewered, and heated quickly to soften the cheese a little bit. Then they were plated.

and enjoyed!

It was off to the Fennel Orange and Arugula Salad. What a great combination of flavors!

Did I mention that they really enjoyed starting the meal with dessert preparation?

The crew looks on and has a healthy dose of banter going on throughout the evening.

The next dish is the Baked Butter Pecan Rockfish with Lemon Butter Cream and Buerre Blanc. Fresh ingredients were needed for the veggies.

Chef Jeff explained the properties of the Buerre Blanc sauce.

The potatoes were mashed and then put into a pastry bag and fluted onto the baking tray, and baked.

When ready, they are topped with the roasted vegetables. You could stop right there for the meal...

but the assembly continued with the placement of baked rockfish on top along with the Buerre Blanc sauce, with a toasted pecan topping, a beautiful blend of sweet and savory.

Photos of the Strawberry Zangeray were not available as the dessert disappeared before I could get a good photo!

Thanks to Chef Jeff and also the Red Hatter's. We all had a night to remember.

So Good, So Good, So Good - Sauces Class Again!

We had such a positive response on Rob's first sauces class that we offered it again the next night!

Warm brie cheese and Farm chutney accompanied by baguette bits were served while Rob provided his introduction.

One of the basic building blocks, a Roux is done to get the ball rolling. Rob shows the color he is after for a regular and brown Roux.

It's stirring time for the Hollandaise sauce. Marcy, you're not done yet!

Some of the base ingredients sit "at the ready" for getting incorporated into other sauces.

Oops, one of the sauce additives has fallen into a plastic cup. Hmm, let's give it a try.

Here's a clever way to sample sauces. Two at once, served over salmon. You decide which one you like!

It's chicken grilling time! Thanks Deb.

It's chicken serving time, also thanks Deb!

Hey, where did that extra sauce come from?

The evening ended with Rob addressing any culinary questions that our students may have. Take time to stop by Blue Wind to enjoy his flavorful lunch menu, as well as his great selection of quality wines!

Rob Plant From Blue Wind

Chef Rob Plant from Blue Wind joined us for another splendid class.
The last one was in the proper handling of meats...this one was focused on sauces.

Brown Roux was the first order of business after hearing about a very reliable reference for producing superior sauces (Thank you Escoffier for your legacy!)

Sharon did the hard part which was whisking! Rob did the delicate part which was the adding of the right amount of stock at the right pace.

Rob shows the consistency and the appropriate color. And it's off to Hollandaise. There are a number of recipes for this. The one in Escoffier used vinegar. Rob preferred to instead use more lemon juice!

Heat, pace, adequate whisking, temperature and the container this is made in all make a difference in how this sauce comes out. Any one thing wrong and then you are looking to "save" the sauce which was also explained.

This one needed no saving and was served over salmon. The crowd was looking for more!

It was time to move onto fresh Tomato Sauce, which would be presented in two slightly different ways. First, the food mill was used for the right consistency, and to work up an appetite.

...and more stirring! Rob had three different sauces going at once at this point, each with its own rich flavor.

And then it was onto the fresh made pasta! Thanks Amy.

The photographer was too close (but I was trying to smell the fresh basil!). It is better than it looks.

The crew enjoyed the flavor and the freshness for this entree.

And then it was time for another tomato sauce variant, this one served over Gnocchi.

This was an example of the base sauce being used in multiple ways for a distinct flavor. Cream could have been incorporated for an additional sauce. It's all about the base!

And now it's time for a Cajun sauce that "borrows" from multiple sauces at once. Rob explains that this was derived from the tradition of using up what was left at the end of the night for restaurant workers. This proved to be a great thing and is how jambalaya got its start.

Sauteed peppers and onions were incorporated into this sauce and it was served over thin grilled chicken. Rob did the plating and it was awesome.

Yuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmm.........

As a bonus, Rob provided some additional information on how to sharpen and care for your cutlery.

We hope to have Rob come in and do a knife skills class in the fall time frame!

The Dinner Party Continues!!!!

Joann and Amy are running the kitchen tonight!

Chef Jeff Jeffries has joined us from the Woodland's
Grill in Wildewood, and is continuing his series on the Dinner Party.
Tonight's menu starts with Curry Coconut
Pumpkin Soup (Not shown) followed by Seared Giant Scallops
over Wilted Greens. Betty lends a hand with the greens.

The Giant Scallops are plated, and present beautifully.

And then it it time to move onto the Chicken Scampi....but
first Joann's sisters pose for a photo and take a phone call????

The chicken gets browned to perfection...

....and then served over Angel Hair Pasta.

This is accompanied by glazed carrots and is better than
it looks!

The dishwasher is caught with his sketch pad.

It's time for a little stretch. The next course involves
slicing, stirring, heat, liquor and fire!

It's Banana's Foster time! The main ingredients are laid out.

Amy slices the bananas.

Chef Jeff starts heating the brown sugar and butter
mixture in the pan. No calories here!

This heats up very nicely in the Scan Pan skillet.

The bananas are added to the mix.....

....and then it is time for liquor and igniting the concoction.

Another great job by Chef Jeff! Everything was tasty and will
be great at dinner parties throughout St. Mary's County
in the near future.

Chef Jeff Jeffries will continue with this series
with an additional class this summer, and he is also
doing a Spanish Tapas class in June!