#somethingvintage

A 1950's Olympia Werke AG.Wilhelmshaven Typewriter made in Western Germany // ~

Evening with Our Chef

We recently hosted a few guests for an evening full of Low Country themed cocktails + food at our tasting kitchen in Arlington.  The theme for the event began in a meeting, where culinary heads explained how they simply wanted to “cook food that people love to eat” – and you guys, it was so much fun.

The evening began, of course, with cocktails.  On a recent trip to Savannah, GA for a bachelorette party, I came across Planters Punch.  Rum and fruit juice filled, Planter’s Punch dates back centuries and is offered on tap at several watering holes in the South.  We knew that this had to be featured in a beverage dispenser on the bar for easy guest access and then thought a Sazerac would be a classic cocktail to offer and could show off our bartenders a bit.

Then we moved on to tray passed bites featuring crowd pleasers such as pork belly, deviled duck eggs + buttermilk biscuits. We used full size deviled egg platters, butcher paper + wooden platters to give these hors d’oeuvres a real Southern and homey feel.

Guests were invited to find a seat for a few, okay six, small plate courses.  The favorite of the night was a tie between our Shrimp "Louie" with fried green tomatoes + pickled pearl onions served on a blue tin plate and our Southern Hospitality, a four cheese mac n' cheese with buttermilk fried chicken morsel, braised mustard greens + house made and bottle hot sauce served in a miniature cast iron skillet.

Finally, it was time for dessert.  And thanks to help from one of our favorite vendors, Something Vintage Rentals we were able to create an adorable Southern Bundt Cake Station. Something Vintage is a rental boutique specializing in farm tables, furniture rentals and antique chinaware. We used their Petworth pub height table to start, then topped it with assorted vintage cake plates + wooden card catalog.  Our pastry team created individual Hummingbird, rum, pineapple upside down + chocolate chip bundt cakes which were displayed at varying heights and served with a variety of ridiculously delicious sauces.  Huge shout out to our amazing culinary team for diving in to this theme and creating long lasting pork belly dreams.

Here’s the full menu:

Libations

The Sazerac + Planter’s Punch

Southern Tidbits

Deviled Duck Egg and Smoked Shrimp heirloom tomato relish

Low Country Baked Oysters parmesan + garlic

Warm Onion Tartlet goat cheese brulèe

Slow Smoked Brisket with Red Pepper Jelly buttermilk biscuit

Crisp Bourbon Glazed Pork Belly jalapeño cheese hominy grits

Creole Spiced Scallops sweet peas + Carolina gold rice

Course 1

Shrimp "Louie"

with fried green tomatoes + pickled pearl onions

Course 2

Farmer's Cheese Stuffed Crispy Squash Blossoms

grilled garlic scapes

Course 3

Shaved Country Virginia Ham + Asparagus

soft poached egg + grilled farm bread

Course 4

Southern Hospitality

four cheese mac n' cheese with buttermilk fried chicken morsel

braised mustard greens + Main Event bottled hot sauce

Course 5

Spit Roasted Lamb

black raspberry jus

grilled yellow carrots

Course 6

Salt Baked Tomahawk Beef Ribs

carved and served with Vidalia onion rings + red pea hop-n-john sauce

Dessert

Southern Bundt Station

a variety of individual bundt cakes in assorted flavors, ready to be dressed in

the toppings of your choice...

rum, hummingbird, chocolate chip + pineapple upside down cakes

top with

vanilla-cinnamon cream cheese glaze, bananas foster sauce, caramel orange sauce, strawberry-peach compote + chocolate ganache