Menu Inspiration

Where is the best place to get inspiration for a menu? My favorite has always been from a great restaurant experience. We had an inspirational meal at the Coopers Hawk Restaurant & Winery in Orlando Florida.

One of their specialties is:

Trio of Medallions

Horseradish, Blue Cheese and Parmesan Crusted Steak Medallions

The beauty of this menu item is the way they layered in flavors and textures to deliver an excellent dish. They developed an excellent variety of flavors and texture with the three crust mixtures. They also added to flavor and texture by plating the steaks with mashed potatoes in au jus broth.

On the surface it doesn’t follow my two key rules of making it in advance and keeping it simple. With a little thought to your mise en place the dish can be simplified and while it will require some last minute cooking it can be done pretty easily.

I had the dish a few nights ago and haven’t prepared it yet. Following is an outline of my thoughts of how to prepare the dish. I will follow up with a detailed recipe after testing out my thoughts.

Make the three crust mixtures in advance in a food processor. All three are based in ½ cups softened butter and Panko bread crump. For the Parmesan add a cup of parmesan. For the blue cheese add a ½ cup of blue cheese. For the horseradish add a ¼ cup of prepared horseradish.
The beef medallions can be filet or NY Strip. I prefer NY strip because you want a medallion that is about 2 inches around and ½ inch thick.
Searing the medallions and pan roasting is key. Preheat your sauté pan on high heat on the stove getting the pan good and hot. Add two tablespoons of butter and swirl the pan to coat. Then sear side one for 2 minutes. Add a ¼ inch topping of your three crust mixtures and then finish it in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes for medium rare
Plate your medallions letting them rest. Then add a cup or two of beef broth to your sauté pan scraping up the brown bits. Bring the “au jus” to a boil.
Add mash potatoes and asparagus to your plate and then pour some au jus to to coat the bottom of the plate and serve.

That seems simple doesn’t it? My wife Susan will say what is simple for you may be very intimidating for others. As promised I will be testing this dish out and reverting with a better recipe. Lets see if I know what I am talking about.

More to come on this one.

If you enjoy this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels that sell books.

Beware Of The Teacher!

If you don’t know what you are doing, you don’t really know if the person trying to teach you knows what they are talking about. The beauty, or downfall of the internet reality of today is that anyone can pretend they know what they are talking about. Do I know about supper clubs? Sometimes I even surprise myself.

Thirty years ago I took my 3 year-old daughter skiing with the intention of teaching her how to ski. My buddy John, who had been working at the ski resort for years, asked who was going teach Jennifer (his favorite niece) how to ski? I told him I was. To which he replied: No way! You taught me how to ski. We are going to get someone who knows how to teach skiing to teach Jennifer. Three hours later my 3-year old daughter was skiing from the top of the mountain.

Fast forward 30 years and my 4 year old grandson Max has moved to Ottawa Canada and wants to play hockey. Now Gramps may have majored in ice hockey in High School, but I think we might want to get him skating lessons from a PRO. My current expertise is more centered on PRO-VOLONE than skating.

If you enjoy this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels that sell books.

Ultimate “Secret Recipe” Brownies

These brownies are simply the best. We have been getting rave reviews on them for years. They are deliciously decadent with rich, gooey chocolate and can be dressed up (or down) to meet any supper club occasion. Now you can find the SECRET behind this ULTIMATE brownie…on the box of Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate.

Yes it is true that Baker’s One Bowl Brownie recipe has been on the box for over 30 years, but there is one little twist that makes my brownies simply the best. In a previous life I worked for Baker’s chocolate and took part in focus groups where Baker’s management got to talk to consumers that were frequent users of our products. During one of these sessions an elderly lady told us that she loved our recipe, but that she made her brownies thicker by using a smaller pan (9 X 9 inches) versus the recommended 9 X 13 inch pan to get a thicker/more gooey brownie. This grandmother was right and her (now mine) thicker brownies are truly amazing.

CHECK OUT THE RECIPE

One might ask why didn’t Baker’s management change the recipe on the box to make a better brownie. Using a smaller pan also requires that you have to bake the brownies longer (55 minutes versus 35 minutes). Baker’s One Bowl Brownies competes with “box” brownies that are easier to make and we were concerned that changing the recipe and requiring a longer bake time would be a disadvantage. Ok, I lost the argument 30 years ago, but you can try my Ultimate Secret recipe and know I was right.

This story proves my belief that “Nothing influences the flavor of food more than how it is cooked”. Make this little change (smaller pan, longer bake time) and you get an amazingly better brownie.

In those focus groups I did learn a few additional secrets:

Line your pan with aluminum foil and spray it with Pam and you get a perfect brownie that doesn’t stick to the pan.
Soak the bowl in water and cleanup becomes easy. One consumer in the focus group complained that while she loved the One Bowl Brownie recipe cleanup was a pain. The other women attacked this poor lady telling her to soak the bowl for 10 minutes. This is just another example of: What is easy for some is hard for others.

There is one secret that I have learned, but not from a focus group. If I make brownies and don’t let my wife lick the bowl I will be in the doghouse. Susan doesn’t really like brownies, but there is something about the brownie batter that she loves.

Try my Ultimate Secret Brownie recipe and it will be a hit at your next supper club. You can dress it up with ice cream and Gran Marnier infused fruit and your guests will be beyond happy.