Peter Dale

03.09.2010

Spring Break Prix-Fixe Dinner, $25, March 10th & 11th, Wednesday & Thursday

It’s finally starting to feel like Spring in Athens. It’s spring break week and we’re getting some long-awaited for warm weather and sun. To celebrate, we’re offering a special three-course prix-fixe:

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Wednesday & Thursday, all night, $25

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1.

Chopped salad with greek yogurt, sumac, crisp pita

or

Lima bean soup with mint-crème fraiche

2.

Lamb tagine with couscous and early-spring vegetables

or

GA shrimp in soupy saffron rice, spring Vidalias and pickled local turnips

3.

Strawberry shortcake

or

Meyer lemon profiteroles with blueberry sauce

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02.25.2010

Argentine Wine Dinner at The National, 3/3/10

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Less is More… It seems like everyone is talking about Argentina these days, and for good reason. The vineyards down south are producing great wines at a great price. Although mostly known for their inky-red Malbecs, Argentina’s whites just might be the next sleeper hit.

Argentine Wine Dinner

Wednesday, March 3^rd, 6:30 pm

6 wines/6 courses, $55 per person

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sparkling to begin:

Pascual Toso Brut NV (100% chardonnay)Torrontes 2008

1. avocado salad with crab, shrimp, and scallops with citrus vinaigrette
Pascual Toso Torrontes 2008

2. butternut squash flan with arugula-almond-parmesan salad
Pascual Toso Chardonnay 2008

3. grilled spicy Italian sausage with braised heirloom beans and grilled peppers
Pascual Toso Malbec 2008

4. traditional baked beef empanadas with salsa golf
Pascual Toso Reserve Malbec 2007

5. matahambre: stuffed flank steak with red chimichurri
Kaiken Ultra Malbec 2007

6. shortbread cookie sandwiches with dulce de leche

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01.12.2010

The National Presents….

TERRY HOAGE VINEYARDS
GROUNDHOG DAY DINNER
February 2, 2010
6:30 PM
$100 per person plus tax and gratuity
706.549.3450 for reservations

Terry, UGA star football player and hard workin’ renaissance man, will be coming to the National to host a great wine dinner! Terry continues to make some fantastic wines at his eponymous winery in Paso Robles. It will be a great event whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow.

1. sauteed tiny wild Maine shrimp with garlic and chili over toast
Terry Hoage Vineyards, The Gap Cuvee, Paso Robles 2008

2. cauliflower soup, caramelized fennel and pearl onions, lemon oil
Terry Hoage Vineyards, Bam Bam Estate Rose, Paso Robles 2008

3. crisp Berkshire pork belly, giant white beans, ham jus, roasted red pepper salad
Terry Hoage Vineyards, Skins Grenache, Paso Robles 2007

4. red wine-braised Piedmontese beef cheeks, mushrooms, watercress
Terry Hoage Vineyards, The Pick Cuvee, Paso Robles 2007

5. grilled American baby lamb chops, pilav with merguez sausage and chestnuts, eggplant chutney, pomegranate jus
Terry Hoage Vineyards, The Hedge Syrah, Paso Robles 2007

6. apple cake, poached figs, buttermilk cream

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01.10.2010

St. John's eccles cake in Athens, GA

St. John in London, Smithfield Market

Once in awhile I’m lucky enough to experience a transformative meal changing the way I think about food, cooking, everything. One of those for me was lunch at St. John in London, back in 2003. In addition to the bone marrow and lamb sweetbreads, I fantasize about the eccles cake. A simple pastry really, it’s buttery flakey pastry with a dense dried currant filling. Clearly a trip to London would be required to ever have another eccles cake… until the day I got to work and TWO eccles cakes were waiting for me! My dear friend Richard smuggled them in on his way home for Christmas. Just as good as I remember! Recipe follows:

To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/nov/27/recipes.foodanddrink

St John’s eccles cake

In the second of our week-long series of exclusive baking recipes, Fergus Henderson reveals the secrets behind the delicious eccles cakes served at the St John restaurants in London

Fergus Henderson
Tuesday November 27 2007
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/nov/27/recipes.foodanddrink

Makes at least 12 (leftover pastry freezes well)

Pastry
125g unsalted butter (butter A), cold from the fridge
500g strong white flour
Pinch of sea salt
250ml water
375g unsalted butter (butter B), cold from the fridge
Filling
50g unsalted butter
110g dark brown sugar
220g currants
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Glaze
3 egg whites, beaten with a fork
Shallow bowl of caster sugar

I stress the St John in our eccles cake, as I am sure that bakers in Eccles will not recognise them as the eccles cake they know. Oddly enough, for a restaurant with a carnivorous reputation, we serve a vegetarian eccles cake, omitting the traditional lard; we use puff pastry. This recipe’s results are delicious and particularly fine when consumed with Lancashire cheese.

To make the puff pastry, mix butter A with the flour and salt using your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then cautiously add the water and mix until you have a firm paste. Pat into a square and wrap in clingfilm. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.

Once the pastry is rested, roll the paste into a rectangle about 8mm thick, then beat butter B between greaseproof paper into a rectangle a wee bit smaller than half the paste rectangle. Lay the butter on the paste, leaving a space at the end. Fold the unbuttered half over the butter and fold the edges over, so you now have butter in a paste package. Pat square, wrap in clingfilm, and allow to rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Roll the pastry square out into a rectangle in the opposite direction to your initial major fold. (Each time you roll out the pastry to fold, turn your pastry and roll across the previous direction you rolled. You will have to sprinkle flour on the surface of your rolling pin; and it is very important to dust the flour off the paste before folding it at every turn in the process.)

Once the pastry is approximately 1cm to 1.5cm thick, fold it like a traditional letter, with one end of the rectangle to the halfway mark, and the other end over this. Pat square and place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to rest again. Repeat this process two more times, but no more! This is essential for successful puff. Return it to the fridge and rest for an hour or more. Do not be deterred - it seems like a more complicated process than it is in practice.

Now, to the filling. Melt the butter and sugar together, then add them to the dry ingredients, mix well, and then leave to cool before using.

We’re now ready to make the cakes. Roll the puff pastry out to 8mm thick and cut circles about 9cm in diameter. Spoon a blob of your cake mix into the centre of the disc and pull up the sides of the pastry to cover the filling, Seal it with your fingers, then turn it over and slash the top three times (for the Holy Trinity). Paint the top with the egg white, then dip it in the sugar. They are now ready to bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a hot to medium oven; keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn. They can be eaten hot or cold.

A version of this recipe appeared in the book Nose to Tail Eating, by Fergus Henderson, published by Bloomsbury.

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01.09.2010

Winter is tropical fruit season, reminding me of an amazing yet simple dessert I had at Inopia (iconic tapas bar from the brother of super-chef Ferran Adria) in Barcelona. We use 1/4 of a super ripe pineapple, sprinkle lime-sugar and pomegranate seeds, and drizzle cane syrup over the top. At Inopia they use a cane syrup from the Canary Islands, we go a little more regional with Steen’s Cane Syrup from Abbeville, Louisiana. It’s a delicious and refreshing way to end a meal.

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Saturday afternoons are “Cheeseburger Saturdays” at The National. We use a proprietary grind of brisket and chuck, certified angus beef. Our friend Julian brought a Big Mac down for a comparison. In my humble opinion, the Mac is not so big.

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