DINNER MENU DESCRIPTIONS JUNE 2013
1. Starters
STARTERS
1.
SP Goat
Milk Burrata
a.
Served with strawberries, Calabrian chilis, and
pistachios.
b.
Burrata is a soft cheese, native to Puglia, a
region in Southern Italy. Burrata means “buttered” in Italian. The outside of burrata is harder than the
inside. The outside acts as a shell for the creamy inside of the burrata. The
outside part is made using cow’s milk mozzarella. The inside is made using goat’s
milk. We will be using goat’s milk from
Coach Farm in Upstate New York. Coach Farm is owned by Mario Bartali’s in-laws.
c.
Strawberries are from Pell Farm in
Connecticut. The fruit will be pickled
in rice wine vinegar, sugar, and water.
d.
Calabrian chilis are small, red peppers from
Calabria, a region in southern Italy.
The
peppers are complex: spicy, smokey, salty, fruity. The peppers will be
served as a puree on the side of the dish.
The peppers are pureed with strawberries and the liquid used to pickled
the strawberries used in the dish.
e.
Pistachios will be served two ways: as a creamy
puree and whole. The whole pistachios will be spiced.
f.
Shaved asparagus and rhubarb will be featured
along with micro basil and watermelon radish.
g.
Finally, dehydrated focaccia will be added to
impart texture to the dish.
2.
Beef
Carpaccio
a.
Served with bone marrow, Fine Herbs, and Porcini
conserva.
b.
The cut of beef used is called the eye of the
round. Think of it as beef’s answer to prosciutto. This cut comes from the hind quarters of the
cow.
i.
The meat is pounded out very thin, seasoned with
salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon, and served raw.
c.
Porcinis are a type of mushrooms that have a
brief growing period in spring and a longer one in the fall. The porcinis used
are harvested during the spring from Oregon.
They are preserved in a vinegar pickle then dressed with olive oil,
thyme, and chili flake.
d.
Bone marrow, coming from the shin bone of veal,
is pushed out of the bone. The marrow is
covered in a mixture of flour, breadcrumbs, and eggs then fried.
e.
There are two overarching categories pertaining
to herbs. There are strong herbs (ex: rosemary) and mild/fine herbs. Fine Herbs used on the dish are parsley, chervil,
tarragon, and chives.
f.
Additionally, upland cress and Parmesan cheese
finish the dish
3.
Polenta
Sulla Spianatoia
a.
Served on a board with lamb bacon, fava beans,
carrots, and Pecorino Sardo.
b.
Mis with
a spoon.
c.
The polenta is cooked with water, butter, and
salt. It is finished with Pecorino, a
hard sheep milk cheese from Italy.
d.
Carrot tops are roasted and served alongside
thin ribbons of carrots dressed in vinaigrette.
e.
Fava beans and pickled currants are featured in
the polenta. Fava beans are glazed with chicken stock, butter, and mint.
f.
A caraway cracker is served with the
polenta. The dough for the cracker is
made without yeast and put through the pasta machine so it is super thin.
g.
The lamb bacon is made in house. Lamb belly is brined for 3 days, then Activa
is added and the meat is tied up. Activa is an enzyme known as transglutaminase.
Transglutaminase, or Activa, has the ability to bind proteins together. The meat is then smoked, slow cooked, and
seasoned with salt and pepper.
4.
Maine
Mussels
a.
Served with spring vegetable Minestra, Ditalini,
and Aleppo.
b.
Mis with
a spoon
c.
Dairy
allergy
d.
Mussels are served without a shell.
e.
Minestra is broad Italian term encompassing
lighter soups, or vegetables cooked in stock. The vegetables used in the dish
are grilled escarole, celery hearts, artichoke hearts, snow peas, onions, and
garlic.
f.
Ditalini is short, tube-shaped pasta.
g.
Aleppo is a spicy, typically ground, pepper with
its roots in Middle Eastern cuisine.
h.
A broth made from mussels, clams, butter, and
olive oil will be poured table side.
MAINS
I.
House
Made Cavatelli
a.
Served with spicy sausage, young broccoli, and
garlic.
b.
Cavatelli is a type of short pasta with defined
ridges. Cavatelli is an eggless pasta originating in Puglia, the “boot” of
Italy. The pasta is made in house. Three
different kinds of flours are used:
Semolina, Durum, and 00. These three flours all contribute different
characteristics to the pasta dough. The Semolina gives the pasta a nice texture.
The Durum makes the dough stiff. The 00, a special, very fine Italian flour,
makes the dough smooth.
c.
Young broccoli comes from Siena Farms from the
Copley farmer’s market.
d.
Pork sausage is made in house using pimenton
(Spanish paprika,) piment d’espellette (a spicy peper from the Basque region of
France,) thyme, and garlic.
e.
The sauce is made by searing the sausage in a
pan, taking it out, then deglazing the pan with chicken stock. After butter, olive oil, and Parmesean are
added.
f.
The dish is finished with Ricotta Salata.
Ricotta salata is salted, pressed, dried ricotta.
II.
Hanger
Steak
a.
Served with agretti, potatoes, lemon, and bagna
cauda.
b.
Mis with
a steak knife.
c.
Gluten free, Dairy allergy, Soy allergy
d.
Ask guests for a temperature on the steak. We
recommend serving the hanger steak medium rare. It is a 9 ounce portion of steak
i.
Temperature Cheat Sheet:
1.
Rare: cold, red center
2.
Medium rare: slightly warm, light red center
3.
Medium: hot, pink center
4.
Medium Well: light, pink center
5.
Well: no
pink in center
e.
Hanger steak is sometimes known as “butcher’s
steak.” Butchers would take this cut of meat home rather than sell it because
it is so flavorful. Hanger steak gets its name because the muscles comprising
this cut of meat “hang” from the diaphragm of the steer.
f.
The steak will be pan roasted. The steak will
initially be cooked in grapeseed oil. Grapeseed oil has little/no taste or
smell, it is also allergy free. After, butter
and thyme are introduced and the steak is finished in these ingredients.
g.
Agretti is sea grass native to Italy and other
coastal Mediterranean regions. The sea grass takes on a salty, briny flavor.
i.
Fun fact: Agretti is also known as Salsola Soda.
Ash from this plant is essential in soap and glass making. The ash is predominately sodium
carbonate. The element was given the
name “sodium” to indicate its relationship to salsola soda.
h.
Bagna Cauda is a warm dip/sauce native to
Piedmont, a region in Northern Italy, but it is eaten all over the country.
Bagna Cauda is made with anchovies, garlic, olive oil, and butter. Anchovies
are cooked with milk to take out some of the “fishiness.”
i.
Versawhip
will be added to lemon juice to create a foam. Versawhip is a soy protein that
reacts with water to create a foamy/frothy texture.
j.
The potatoes are cooked with beef fat, butter, rosemary,
and thyme. After, the potatoes are
battered and flash-fried, tempura style. The batter is made with rice flour,
soda water, and baking soda. The potatoes are crunchy on the outside and softer
on in the inside.
PIZZAS
I.
What came off: Spicy Chicken
II.
Tartufata
a.
Served with fresh Italian truffles, Taleggio,
potatoes, and SP Pancetta.
b.
Tartufata means “truffled.”
c.
The base is a mornay sauce. Mornay is béchamel sauce
with cheese added, in this case the cheese is Taleggio. Béchamel is roux (flour
and butter) cooked in milk.
d.
Taleggio is a washed rind cow’s milk cheese from
Italy. The cheese is soft and stinky.
e.
Raw Russet potatoes will be grated over the
pizza before it goes into the oven.
f.
After coming out of the oven, the pizza gets
finished with house made Pancetta. The pancetta is not cooked. Pancetta is salt sured pork belly with
peppercorns.
g.
Finally, summer truffles from Tuscany, Italy are
grated over the top of the pizza.
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