Dinner in the Field
| September 18, 2009 | Posted by admin under Uncategorized |
Executive Chef, Bryan Moscatello
I had been very excited about doing this event Outstanding in the field for some time now. I was however uncertain about many of the logistics like what does my mobile kitchen look like, what do the service platters look like, what happens when it rains, etc. so I put together a list of propane equipment and began to figure out my back up plan and started production.
Since this dinner depended on the local area farms to be our grocer we about a dozen different farms providing us with all of our food requirements from Green Hill Farms lamb to Rhapahonik River Oysters providing just that. The bulk of my ingredients arrived on the Friday before the event which was on the following Monday. So first taste all of the local produce, cook off some of the lamb and pork. Just to make sure it is all up to snuff. It was of course, there is something about produce just plucked from the ground the day before when it is optimally ripe. Next get meats in cure, brines and marinades. Then on
Saturday prep begins with the normal sauces, braising and stock making. Day two was but knife work.
Day three was the day of the event so it started early for a 3 pm function. We had to make 450 ravioli, 10 gallons of black salt caramel corn, 180 individual crème fraiche cakes, 200 pate choux puffs and 200 brioche wrapped oysters all before we left for the farm at 9 am. All this done the dry ice and U-Haul, yes U-Haul arrived and we began to pack I check my list and I had everything I needed as far as food goes. I revisit my first question what does my kitchen on the farm look like? I know that they have a professional kitchen but that could be as far away as a mile so that won’t be a viable option for every course. So I did what any respectable city chef would do and packed my slicer, my immersion circulator, a couple of fryers, extension cords and a case of sternos.
Easy drive to the farm and as I guessed the equipment I requested was unavailable so we pluged everything in and go. We started off at 3 pm passing Hors d’oeuvres for about an hour, my favorite was the popcorn sweetbreads served in mini brown paper bags. Then since we were on rain delay all day the dinner was moved to the barn, believe me this was not as much a barn as a luxury residence for horses. First course heirloom tomato ravioli with melted leeks and shave cow’s milk cheese from Laughing Cow Farm. Next was the summer chicken salad with shaved farm vegetables, peppercorn-honey gastrique, cracklings and slow poached egg yolk. Third was my favorite “the whole hog” mustard q ribs, braised belly, smoked hocks, sliced porchetta and sage sausage with pickled veges and mustard seed lovash. The fourth course was the sous vide lamb shoulder with grilled vegetables and goat cheese potato tots. We wrapped it up with the crème frache cake, corn ice cream and handfuls of the salted caramel corn.
The experience was great and I would definitely do this event again and I will not leave home without my immersion circulator it was indeed a life saver for re-eating the porchetta, lamb and cooking the slow poached eggs in a very controlled environment. Also a dozen or so sternos in a metal box makes for a great oven in times of need.
