Monthly Archives: February 2010
Building a Bakery One Sweet Pastry at a Time
| February 23, 2010 | Posted by admin under Uncategorized |
When I think of what makes a good Italian bakery for breakfast I automatically think espresso drinks and pastries. So when it came time to build the menu for Potenza Bakery and procure products for this outlet we started with a local coffee roaster and a whole lot of ideas of what we wanted our brew to taste like so after multiple tastings and refinements we wound up with what we consider our perfect blend for the bakery.
Now that we had coffee it was time to dive into my favorite part, the pastry development. I wanted to use some familiar items such as cinnamon roll or maybe sticky buns, so why not combine them and put an Italian twist on it. And the Cherry-Pistachio Sticky Buns were born. For this pastry we start with a house made cinnamon sweet dough that is then rolled like a cinnamon bun but instead of the proof, bake and glaze we put them in a prepared 9 inch pan with dried cherry smear with pistachios then proof and bake. These beauties are served in the mornings only fresh out of the oven between 8and 10 so get there early.
Another great item is the Nutella Bar. This baby is loaded with cream cheese, brown sugar streusel and of course Nutella, that wonderful hazelnut and cocoa spread that was first invented in the 1940’s in the piedmont region of Italy. These bars are addictive so be well advised I prefer mine to be served with a dry cappuccino, whole milk of course. What a great start to the day.
It is also time to start something new. So this week Ill be working on a stuffed bombolini. This should be fun!
Nutella Bar
Sweet Grape Foccacia
Don’t forget the fabulous bread, although not part of the sweets menu, the semolina baguettes and grissini are favorites.
Menu Refresh
| February 19, 2010 | Posted by admin under Uncategorized |
We’ve made the final changes to the Zola Wine & Kitchen menu and the last items we switched up are the most unusual, but my favorite.
I wanted to have a bit of fun as well as some eggs for lunch so the first dish to hit the menu was the All American Breakfast for Lunch. This dish is just that: Two scrambled eggs seasoned with truffle, house made maple breakfast sausage, cheddar biscuit and buttery hash browns. What a great lunch for the person who either just woke up or was in a rush and simply missed that all important meal of the day. Next, turkey meatballs Swedish style. Who can resist Swedish meatballs? Especially when they are made from turkey and braised in mushroom gravy then served on a bed of crème fraiche potatoes.
Then there is the need for a great stew this time of year so I went with braised lamb shoulder with butter beans, kale and preserved tomato pesto. I’ve really had a yearning for gorgonzola creamed spinach and cabbage so I paired that with chicken scallopini.
I added everything but the kitchen sink. We also continue with our daily specials and a quiche of the day. Now that the menu is completely changed, its time to start thinking of the upcoming season.
Reflections on a Super Bowl Menu
| February 10, 2010 | Posted by admin under Uncategorized |
Executive Chef, Bryan Moscatello
When Super Bowl Sunday comes around the thing I’m most focused on is, what food to serve. Most people are eating sandwiches, pizzas and assorted chips and dips. Keeping this in mind I opt not buck tradition so pizza and sandwiches will be served at my house and why not throw in a couple little platters of great bites.
Lets talk little bite first. Since I moved and threw my mini fryer out nothing deep fried will hit the menu. I wanted to get some fruit onto the menu so we began with pancetta wrapped black mission figs, gorgonzola dolce foam and port syrup. I decided to go with the oh so good duck liver cream puffs drizzled with an intensely reduced brandy glaze. No football pre-party is complete without some form of Swedish style meatball, I decided it would be smart to have mini truffled rabbit meatballs with parmesan gravy.
For the pizza it makes the most sense to me to have something that can’t be ordered from Domino’s. And the duck liver cream puffs have me wanting some more of that flavor so I went with a foie gras pizza with smoked duck breast, fresh figs, thyme, an incredible artisanal balsamic vinegar and mache leaves. The only thing missing on the pie was something crisp. So I decided to go with prosciutto cracklings.
To round out the meal I had to go with a classic grilled cheese. First bread selection, I went with a whole grain boule that was riddled with seeds and came as an unsliced loaf. Unsliced is the key here, so that I was able to cut the slices to my desired thickness. Cheese selection I knew that velveeta just wouldn’t cut it so I went with the next best thing which robiola: a soft, ripened mixture of cow, goat and sheep milk cheeses. A dollop of kerrygold butter to cook the sandwiches in was the final ingredient.
No sandwich is complete without some form of cooked potatoes. With no fryer there was no point on going the French fry route so I chose the next best thing. I cut the potatoes in 2” by ½” rectangles and cooked them slowly over medium heat in a 50/50 blend of butter to oil with a liberal amount of salt and pepper. This method takes a bit longer and more attention but the result is outstanding. They become well seasoned throughout and very creamy. The last remaining ingredient, a sauce. I had bourbon so it seemed only fitting to make a bourbon barbecue sauce.
It was my best Super Bowl yet, the only thing missing was the Vikings.
