Summer at The Patterson House

Summer has arrived, the heat is here in Nashville.  It isn't bashful either. 

So the brains at the bar have developed exciting and refreshing new cocktails. They are delicious, I've tried them all.  The Summer Negroni is an amazing introduction to the world of Negronis.  It's light, semi-sweet, and barely bitter.  A great drink to sip with some food. 

Speaking of food, the Summer menu goes into effect this Tuesday! The additions to the food menu are as follows: 

Caprese Bruschetta - Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil, Balsamic Vinegar. 

- This dish replaces our Gazpacho Bruschetta.  I loved the gazpacho bruschetta, but I also love cheese, and basil.  It should be a nice treat.  I have a tomato plant thats growing like crazy if I can get a few more the tomatoes will be picked from the vine to order. 

Confit of Chicken Wing - Buffalo Sauce, Danish Bleu Cheese

- Basically the best chicken wing ever.  Wings cooked low and slow in bourbon scented bacon fat, deboned, then breaded and fried to perfection. 

Chilled Chicken Tacos - Patterson House Salsa, Fiery Fiest Cheese, Avacado, Tequila Crema

- Its a taco... with booze in it.  This replaces our chicken salad.  It will be delightful. 

Summer Blue Ribbon - Honey-whipped Bleu Cheese, Ham, Chicken, Green Apple

- This is simply a lighter and more summery version of a LCB Sandwich.  

Pietro Panini - Nutella, Peanut Butter, Benton's Farm Bacon

- It's like a fat-ass reese's cup in a sandwich.

PH S'more - Graham Cracker, Nutella, House-made Orange Flower Water Marshmallows, Atomized Gin

- We made our own marshmallows for cryin our loud.  I asked Toby, "How can we make a s'more better than a s'more?"  He answered perfectly saying, "Put booze in it."  So we took a risk added gin to a s'more instead of the obvious Rum option.  And it is surprisingly enjoyable. I think it will be a hot item this Summer.  

So there you have it.  Our wheels have been turning at TPH.  The booze menu is exciting, and I hope you like what you've seen for food.  This is my first big menu change at The Patterson House. I'm excited about it, and hope you enjoy it.  

Cheers,

Ryan

Drink notes from Toby Arrived:

So the summer menu will be starting on Tue. June 30th. We are very excited to get a few more under our belt. 

Things have been going well, the press has been very kind, and the response from the people of Nashville has been amazing. 


Gin - 

Summer Negroni...Tanqueray, Cinzano Bianco White Vermouth, Campari, Senior Orange Curacao, Angostura Orange Bitters

Pegu Club Cocktail...Beefeater, Lime, Senoir Orange Curacao, 3 types of bitters


Rum - 

Kelso Daiquiri...Prichard's Tennessee Crystal Rum, Lime, Simple Syrup
(should be placed above the Mai Tai


Whiskey - 

Summer Sazerac...Old Overholdt Rye, Chamomile Honey Syrup, Herbsaint, Summer Bitters

Jennings changes to "Peach Wood Smoked Cola"


Tequila - 

Tequila Mockingbird.. ....Lunazul Blanco, Lemon, Yellow Chartreuse, Peppermint


Brandy - 


Summer Sidecar...Maison Surrenne Cognac, Lemon, Senior Orange Curacao, Aperol, House Orange Bitters

Sunshine ...Inca Gold Pisco, Lemon, Egg White, Summer & Old Fashioned Bitters, Orange Flower Water

Cheers,

Toby

Nashville!

Nashville is home to Country Music, Honky Tonk Bars, The Grand Ole Opry, and a lot of other wonderful music related goodness.  The way I saw food in San Francisco is the way they see country music in Nashville.  I will be here for a while, as I am getting married here in July.  I also took a Chef's position at The Patterson House.  

Now that I am in Nashville I want to start blogging on broader topics.  I plan to discuss service in America, the agricultural climate, farm eggs, gin, mezcal, and a few others to start.  I may even use this as an idea pad for what we are doing at The Patterson House.  Check back soon, the wheels are turning.

La Folie

Wow....  that's all I can say.  I had an amazing meal with 5 friends at La Folie recently. 

So much food I can hardly remember it all.  I will instead give you the high-lights of the night. 

1. Foie Gras - I had heard Passot's foie preparations were unreal.  They are amazing... almost too big.  I had seared foie gras with roasted peaches and peach consomme.  It was amazing, but oh-so-rich. 

2. Warm Pig's Feet and Lobster Terrine on lentil Salad -  Talk about technique, this guy showed his master chef ability with a flawless terrine and interesting concept.  I was excited  to try it and not let down at all. 

3. Fondant - Not just any-ole-fondant but chocolate fondant with ice cream on the INSIDE of it!  I was baffled. . . and still am actually.  It was delicious.

I will be going back there as soon as my wallet is heavy enough, unfortunately at aroun $160 dollars per person it might be a while. 

UBUNTU Revisited. . .

Simple and sweet.... I don't think I accurately reflected my thoughts in my last post about ubuntu.  I thought it was absolutley amazing.  It was truly an eye opening culinary experience.  So this Friday I went back to Jeremy Fox's napa restaurant with some family and friends.  I was absolutely floored by the food we enjoyed.  

Just to mention a few:

Marcona Almonds with Lavender Sugar and Sea Salt

Sweet Peas with pea shell consomme, mint oil, macadamia nuts and white chocolate with pea sprouts

Deep Fried Egg (with soft yolk?!) with fingerling potato quennelles and black garlic coulis

Strawberry Sofrito Pizza with burranta cheese. 

And a new version of the noried goat cheese with radish and black sea salt

All of these dishes were incredible as were the others we enjoyed.  As of right now Ubuntu is my favorite restaurant in the bay area and the most unique and enjoyable dining experience I've ever had.  Please go eat there, it will improve your life.

Foie Gras

We've all heard about foie gras and we know it has quite a reputation.  Many think foie gras is the epicenter of perfection in the fine dining world. It can be found on many great menus across the world.  Customers at The French Laundry are often flooded with foie, Anthony Bourdain endorses foie gras, and at some point in the year Gordon Ramsay features foie at every restaurant he runs.  

So what is the great food?  Fattened duck or goose liver.  And might I say, it is delicious.  Its often served, seared, in a tourchon, a påte, or even as a creme caramel.  The great debate with foie gras concerns the ethics of fattening the duck/geese livers.  Ducks and geese don't have the same gag reflexes humans have.  They can be force-fed much more easily than it would be to stick a tube down our throats.  But does that make it right?  Apparently enough people don't think so.  In 2012 it will be illegal to sell foie gras in California.  It's already illegal in Chicago.  But this practice isn't new.  Egyptians were force feeding ducks as early as 2500 BCE.  There are currently a few farmers growing humane foie gras geese.  

So let me know what you think.  Should we be eating this rich buttery delicacy? Or should we find an alternative for the slim portion of the culinary world that is foie gras? . . . I'm sure you can see where I'm leaning already. 

Here is a clip from Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations segment on Foie Gras. 

Coming Soon!!

I've started a new job.  With school and work I'm pulling 15 hour days non-stop so obviously blogging has taken a hit.  But keep checking back because you're in for a lot this weekend:

Beef Tendon

"Cabeza" (Cow's head) Tacos

Foie Gras

Fresh Pasta

and more. . .

CIOPPINO GALORE

Yesterday was the Mid-Peninsula Young Life's first annual fund raising banquet.  140 of the bay area's finest came to support Young Life and enjoy a meal.  I was lucky enough to be hired to prepare the food for this banquet.  My staff and I prepared three courses for the event.  First course was a classic caesar salad with garlic grated croutons.  The main course and theme for the night was Cioppino.  The story goes that cioppino started when fishermen would come in from sea and "chip in" any surplus catch from their last trip.  The dish seems to have quite a history here in San Francisco and resonates with the locals. Our cioppino was chocked full of p.e.i. mussels, dungeness crab, and pacific pollock.  The key to my cioppino is starting with a foundation of roasted fennel with the caramelized onions.  The sweetness the vegetables bring to the dish works well to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and give the dish a richer feel.  Finally we ended the night with a tiramisu.  It was fabulous!  

The day before the event and the day of are

 the most demanding days for the catering staff (whereas the planning committee and director have to bust ass for a month or two).  I put in about twenty six and half hours in the two days, and my friend (and great chef) Luke put in just a few less than me.  We were also helped by two volunteers and my business partner/sister Jeannie.  The event went quite smoothly with an overall good response.  We definitely learned some things through the experience.  This was my first event with this quantity of people and food. But it was just as exciting as pitching my first game in little league.  I have all the pressure from all directions but when I finish the game, or knock out the dishes everything feels amazing.  Its an incredible experience to watch a group of people from 13 years old to 62 work together to make it happen.  The adrenaline of a night like this one is great.  There is no way I could have managed a 16 hour catering with out a good dose of adrenaline running through my body.  After about 10 hours you get the "runner's high" and it carries you until the end.  The key for me and Luke was to not stop moving.  As soon as we sat our butts on the comfy seats of my honda to leave an immense release of pressure and energy occurred.  We looked at each other and recognized a job well done.  

I came home to see a large portion of the Young Life committee at my house with friends discussing the evening.  For the inaugural banquet it was a success.  Congratulations Young Life and thanks!

I am still tired and wiped out from an amazing two days.  

Cioppino

Ingredients

1 Fennel bulb

1 Med. Onion (Yellow)

Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme

1/2 Tablespoon crushed red pepper

1 Lg. Can (usually 28 oz) Crushed tomatoes

2 C. red wine (cab or syrah)

8oz. Clam Juice

1/2 # Pollock or Cod

1/2 # Crab Meat

1 # Mussels

Procedure

1. Medium dice fennel and onions

2. Add olive oil to large pot and heat to medium

3. Add onions and fennel and slowly caramelize (for richer flavor)with thyme, red pepper, salt and pepper.

4. Add clam juice and wine and bring to a simmer - let simmer for 4-5 minutes to concentrate flavors

5. Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer - simmer covered for 25 to 45 minutes (depending on how rich you want it).

6. Add pollock, crab, and mussels and simmer until cooked.

*Simmering the seafood takes longer to cook but really maintains a more tender finished product and helps you avoid overcooked mussels. 

Also consider finishing the dish with a drizzle of olive oil or a caramelized baby carrot. 

[The picture is Luke scrubbing one of the two huge pots after cioppino night]