Culinary Curiosities. A Glossary of Ingredients
“What is that?” Every night we try to answer that culinary question curious customers ask when thinking about ordering from our specials menu as we try to show off different ingredients and cooking styles that may be considered outside the usual Italian cuisine repertoire. If you have a better understanding of these ingredients, hopefully you’ll say, “I’ll try that!”
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Beurre-Blanc – Lobster risotto with fresh corn, tomatoes and spinach with lemon thyme beurre-blanc.
White wine and scallop reduction with bay leaf and black pepper corn that’s finished with tons of butter. We infuse it with fresh herbs like basil and lemon thyme from our own garden. It pairs best with fish.
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Hakerui Turnips – Pan seared halibut with roasted hakerui turnips, kale, asparagus and red peppers, fresh tomato jasmine rice, cucumber and lime vinaigrette.
A fresh, locally grown turnip that is sweeter than the Thanksgiving variety. Also known as the salad turnip, it’s eaten raw but best when roasted as it’s flavor becomes as sweet as candy.
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Ceviche – Striped bass and halibut marinated in lime, cilantro, jalapeno, and red onion with tortilla.
Ceviche is a simple yet diversified dish with three star ingredients; raw fish “cooked” in a citrus juice, any variety of hot peppers from jalapeño to Peruvian amarillo, and cilantro. Rounding out the flavor are fresh, seasonal vegetables such as Langwater tomatoes, red onion and corn.
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Confit – Rabbit confit with roasted tomato and asparagus with pappardelle, tomato and mozzarella stuffed tenderloin, sherry reduction sauce.
Confit is any meat cooked in it’s own fat or, in the case of rabbit, olive oil as it doesn’t have much fat. While Farmer Mr. McGregor cooked his rabbit in a pie, we like to simmer it real slow at a low temperature until it’s tender and juicy.
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Harissa and Lime Aioli – Pan fried frog legs with harissa and lime aioli with micro arugula.
Harissa is a spice blend made with smoked cheyenne pepper. The lime makes the harissa less hot, while the aioli, made with egg, canola oil, garlic and a bit of magic, makes it smooth and creamy. As a side, frog legs taste like chicken but are flaky like cod.
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Capicola – Stuffed chicken with house capicola and cheddar filling
We make our own capicola. It’s the collar muscle of the pig that is dry rubbed with our house capicola seasoning that gives it a nice spicy kick. It sits for 2 days, and then slow roasted for 2 1/2 hours. It adds the wonderful savory flavor used in our chicken marsala, and makes for a nice treat in our specials.