A Little Tease...
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| Roasted Squash | Dominic Armato |
We have a date and time, we have a place, we have a menu. Skillet Doux's Chef for a Night over at Posh is just a week away!
As mentioned a few weeks ago, Josh Hebert of Posh Restaurant in Scottsdale has been kind enough to let me play executive chef for a night, and we'll be presenting my menu next Monday. I'd hoped to document the process of working on the recipes, but the journal didn't quite work out. Time is at a premium these days and I may have over-committed on that a bit. But I'm excited about the food. I'll be doing a little fine-tuning between now and next Monday, but everything's coming out fabulously.
The menu, "Italian, Poshified," is as follows (subject to last-minute adjustments, if necessary):
Amuse: 65° Egg Carbonara
Think of it as Spaghetti Carbonara minus the spaghetti. I'm separating the yolks from the whites, mixing the whites with rendered pancetta, cheese and pepper, returning it to the eggshell with the yolk, poaching it and topping it with more cheese and crispy pancetta. I've decided to go with a 65° egg (celsius, of course) to get a custardy white with a nice, runny yolk. It's decadent and awesome.
Primo: Tortelli in Roasted Squash Brodo with Brown Butter and Sage
It's intended as an elegant play on the pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage that you get everywhere this time of year. I decided to scrap the sausage and pecorino filling for the tortelli. The brodo is coming out so nicely and the tortelli were kind of busy, so I decided to tone down the filling a bit. I'm going with a (mostly) traditional tortellini filling (pork, chicken, mortadella, cheeses, etc.), floating the tortelli in a clear, intense roasted squash consommè, and drizzling the whole thing with brown butter and fried sage.
Secondo: Crispy Chicken Roulade with Apple Gastrique and Cider-Glazed Fennel
Josh was a huge help in bringing this one together. I knew what I wanted to do, but wasn't quite sure about the best way to do it. As it turns out, something he's done a number of times before is sous vide a meat, wrap it in chicken skin and roll the roulades on the flat top to crisp the skin, which is exactly what I was looking for... so we're rolling it rather than layering it. We'll sous vide chopped chicken thigh with rosemary and juniper and give it the crispy roulade treatment, dress it with a little apple gastrique, and serve it alongside a simple roasted, cider-glazed fennel. It should rock.
Dolce: Fall Spiced Gelato with Orange Snow and Caffè Corretto
It's my old favorite, the Spice Cream, which is made by infusing a typical ice cream base with cinnamon,cloves and star anise. Then we'll turn a little orange zest into snow, and serve it alongside a shot of espresso "corrected" with Cointreau and cognac. You can eat the gelato and sip the coffee, but I think the way to go is pouring some of the latter over the top of the former. Either way, it's an old favorite.
So there it is! I'm jazzed. The event is open to anybody who wants to come, Monday, October 18th from 5:30 - 8:30 PM. The menu runs $29, and it'd be a huge help if anybody who is interested called 480.663.7674 to reserve a spot. Here's hoping anybody who's in town can make it!
That's a brilliant change to your chicken dish. Yum!
Wish I could be there but alas, 1000+ miles is a ways to go. Best wishes for a successful event. :)
Posted by: ally | October 11, 2010 at 01:25 PM
Wow. Good changes (and non-changes) all around, Although the new Prima is more elegant (meant in the good way), I like the idea of the inside-out ravioli you had in mind before. The revised Secunda is good as well. I'll be in PHX right after the election; alas, too late to try your menu.
Posted by: Anon man | October 11, 2010 at 07:09 PM
You can ship this, right?
... right?
Posted by: Wangus | October 11, 2010 at 08:05 PM
Sadly, no, but I intend to post recipes. Which I'll actually have since I needed to write them out.
Posted by: Skillet Doux | October 11, 2010 at 08:08 PM
Your menu sounds wonderful!
Posted by: The Food Hunter | October 12, 2010 at 08:08 PM
It sounds wonderful. I am looking forward to seeing the recipes.
Posted by: LaLaura | October 13, 2010 at 03:45 PM
If I haven't got work, I'm definitely going to do everything in my power to be there.
Posted by: Vega | October 14, 2010 at 04:27 AM
Was a brilliant meal, Dom. Heather & I talked about it quite a bit and it was just wonderful. The egg was unbelievable. That needs to be on somebody's menu somewhere. Really enjoyed every course!
Posted by: Chris Lee | October 18, 2010 at 09:22 PM
Menu sounded unbelievable, wish I lived close by to experience it myself. Sounds like it went very well. Congrats!
Posted by: Mann of Sandd | October 19, 2010 at 01:27 PM