Great Plates

Recently the Yankeechef made a Mint Chocolate Bread Pudding at work using Gharidelli dark chocolate syrup. I posted on twiter about the bread pudding and the nice folks at Gharidelli asked for the recipe. It’s taken me a little while to finalize the recipe but here it is: 

2 lb. day old bread cut into 1 inch cubes

6 large eggs beaten

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Syrup

1/3 cup Monin Peppermint Syrup OR 3 tsp mint extract

1/4 cup sugar

Pre heat oven to 350

Combine all ingredents except bread in large mixing bowl

Add bread and toss until most of the liquid is absorbed 

Spray baking pan with non-stick spray if desired

Pour bread and any remaining liquid into pan

Bake for 30 minutes and check for doneness may need to be baked for up to 15 more minutes.

Computer problems have kept the Yankeechef from posting for almost a week. When I last posted I had posted about The Grate App Challenge. Last Thursday evening the challenge went live. The day leading up to the evening's challenge went well. I was able to get everything done for the challenge that I need to. The evening started out slow. The YankeeParents came out for dinner. As I was in the dinning room talking to them I saw the six challenge judges come around the corner on their way to the Grind. I ran back to the kitchen and started the judge's plates. As the judge's food was cooking they came into the Grind with about 25 other DDA members. I was working alone that night because I didn't expect everyone to come in at once. So I just put my head down and put out all the plates as fast as posible.

The appetizer I came up with the mystery ingredents for the challenge was: Utz Cheese Griddle Cakes with Krab Maque Choux and Creole Tomato "Jello" Medallions. For the griddle cake batter I processed the cheese balls to powder in the food processor. I mixed the cheese ball powder with flour, eggs, milk, and the Fonta Flora Scuppernong Saison. Maque Choux (pronounced "mock shoe") is a Cajun creamed style corn. I sauteed bacon, the classic Cajun trinity of peppers, onions, and celery. I added the imitation crab meat and corn. After it cooked for a few minutes I deglazed the pan with the Fonta Flora saison and then added cream and butter and let it cook down. For the "jello" I boiled spicy Creole tomato juice and added it to the gelatin and poured it into cookie sheets so it would set up into thin sheets. To plate my appetizer I put the griddle cake on a plate. Over the cake I put the krab maque choux and topped it all with creole tomato jello medallions.

After I got all of the food cooked and plated I was able to talk to some of the DDA members who had come out for the evening. As the evening went on we had other guests come in and order the entry appetizer as well. As well as the six judges anyone of the DDA member that RSVPed for the evening could vote on their favorite challege entry. My entry won the Peoples Choice award. I am quite happy with that.

The Morganton DDA (Cheddar Socials) is hosting the Grate App Challenge a "Chopped" style mystery box challenge on Oct 23rd on Oct 22nd I received my mystery box. Four ingredents that I must use in an appetizer. Utz cheese balls, gelatin, imatation crab meat, and a saison from Fonta Flora Brewery. I'll update with a new post later with what I come up with.

On the second Waffle Wednesday the Yankeechef offered the Wilber Waffle. The Wilber Waffle is a crispy cornmeal waffle. While the waffle was cooking I sauteed Boar's Head Tavern Ham, bacon, red onion, green pepper, Granny Smith apples and pepperjack cheese in my own Carolina style BBQ sauce with brown sugar and spices. When the waffle was ready I put it on a plate and topped it with fresh baby spinach and then the ham mixture. The Wilber Waffle was another popular Lunch Box special and was quite tasty.

This week’s Vegetarian Tuesday Lunch Box was the Jamaican Vegetable Stir Fry. The Yankeechef had alot of fresh vegetable on hand and thought of an item on the old Caribbean Cafe menu. I stirfried squash, zucchini, rainbow chard, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, and onions in my own Jamacian Jerk sauce. See I meant the sauce not the vegetarians when I said Jerk. When the vegetables where ready I served them over coconut rice. The dish was one of the more popular menu items at the old Caribbean Cafe where I worked for a few years before it closed.

Last Friday The Riverstones were in The Upper Wine Room at The Grind Cafe. The Yankeechef offered a dinner special harking back to my time as chef at a small restaurant in Buffalo's Little Italy. I served Mediterranean Chicken Penne. I sauteed chicken breast with artichoke hearts, asparagus, sundried tomato, onions, sweet peppers, rainbow chard and penne pasta tossed with a white wine-garlic sauce. I topped it with feta cheese crumbles. We sold a lot of plates and the guests liked it.

This week the Yankeechef celebrated the inaugural Waffle Wednesday. Each week I'll offer a waffle Lunch Box special on Wednesdays. This week I offered the Beef "Fajita" Waffle. I made cornmeal waffles and topped them with fajita seasoned sauteed Boar's Head roast beef, peppers and onions. Then I added shredded cheddar, my own poblano salsa, and cilantro-lime sour cream. At the Grind I try to make as much as possible from scratch. With this in mind I made the waffle batter and I think it came out very nice. Salsas are some of my favorite things to make and poblano peppers are some of the best peppers for fresh salsa. 

As I've mentioned the Yakeechef will be competing in the Downtown Morganton Grate App Challenge. On Wednesday the poster for the challenge was released. I made sure to snag a copy for my collection. If you're in Morganton come on out on October 23rd to see the Yankeechef show some southern boys how its done. 

Once again today was Vegetarian Tuesday at The Grind Cafe. The Yankeechef offered the BBQ Barley Burrito. Toasted barley with sauteed  rainbow chard, mushrooms, red onions, sweet peppers, tomato, and carrots tossed in Carolina style BBQ sauce rolled up in a tomato-basil tortilla. The rainbow chard was grown at Blue Bird Farm and was picked yesterday. Super fresh!!! The Carolina BBQ sauce was my own take on the classic sauc e. All in all a well recived Lunch Box. 

On Saturday evening Centerpiece Jazz played in the Upper Wine Room. The Yankeechef opened the kitchen for dinner. I offered the Grind's full menu, the tapas menu and a dinner special. My dinner special was Apple-Walnut Pork. Lightly breaded pork loin cutlets topped with an apple-walnut compote over mashed sweet potato, and sauteed Brussels sprouts. I sliced the pork loin thin and then pounded it even thinner with my meat hammer. (Meat Hammer would be a great name for a band) I breaded the pork loin cutlets with panko bread crumbs and pan fried them quickly. For the apple-walnut compote I diced Granny Smith apples and mixed them with walnuts. Then I simmered the apples and walnuts in Carolina style BBQ sauce and maple syrup. For mashed sweet potatoes I boiled peeled sweet potato chucks. After the sweet potato was cooked and drained I mashed them with whole butter, brown sugar, and spices, I pureed half the mashed sweet potato in the blender and mixed the puree back into the rest. For the Brussels sprouts I cut the sprouts in half and sauteed them with whole butter with diced bacon and roasted red bell peppers all seasoned with my salt and black pepper mix. The dinner special sold out which is always nice.

On Friday the Yankeechef offers an extra special special or as I like to call it, Lagnaippe Friday. The Lunch Box was The Grind Cubano. The Yankeechef's take on the classic Cuban sandwich. To prepare for the sandwich I marinated pork loin in a classic mojo sauce for eight hours then slow roasted the pork loin. After that I sliced the pork loin thin and put it in the crock pot with a sauce made from the pan drippings and orange juice and let the pork simmer in the sauce all day. For the sandwich I used a hoagie roll with deli mustard, Boar's Head tavern ham, dill pickles, swiss cheese and the roast pork. I pressed the sandwich on the panini grill. The Cubano sold out. It looks like I need to keep it in the friday rotation.

Last Wednesday the Yankeechef needed to come up with something new. I had some red curry paste that I had made for a earlier special and wanted to use it another way, so Wednesday's Lunch Box special was the result. The Red Curry Turkey Wrap. I mixed my red curry paste with sour cream to use as the spread for the wrap. I filled a tomato-basil tortilla with Boar's Head turkey, red onions, sweet red bell peppers, carrots, and the red curry sour cream. I rolled up the wrap and grilled it. It sold well.

On Monday the Yankeechef offered a lunch box with a very popular Yankeechef original Grind classic The Pimento Beef Melt. Boar's Head roast beef, sliced tomato, and my own pimento cheese. All warmed on the grill until the beef is hot and the pimento cheese starts to melt. It's served on a toasted kaiser roll. The pimento cheese is a recipe that I created for The Grind Cafe. It's a blend of sharp cheddar and two other cheeses. The cheeses are mixed with cream cheese, mayo, roasted red peppers, spices and some secret ingredients.

As you know Tuesdays are Vegetarian Tuesday at The Grind Cafe. Today the Lunch Box was a Red Curry Stir Fry. I made a red curry paste from scratch. I soaked two types of dried chili peppers. When the peppers were ready I put them in the food processer with fresh ginger, onions, lemon grass, garlic, spices, and peanut butter. For the stir fry I sauteed diced tofu with fresh garden vegetables and spices, After the tofu and egetable had cooked about half way I added the curry paste and let it cook for about a minute, Then I added cocnut milk and let it simmer until the vegetables were cooked tender. I served the curry over steamed rice. Once again Vegetarian Tuesday was a hit and the plates came back empty.

In the Yankeechef's world I like to call Fridays "Lagniappe Friday". The little something extra in friday's Lunch Box was Bratwurst. I brought in some awesome Boar's Head brats and simmered them in "Farm to Table" Rye Saison from my good friends at Fonta Flora. To serve the bratwurst I grilled them on the grill and toasted hoagie rolls. When the brats were ready I put sweet and sour braised red cabbage on the roll and the added the bratwurst and finished it with deli style mustard. The braised red cabbage is a classic German side dish. First I diced smoked bacon and red onions and put them in a pot to start cooking. While the bacon and onion were cooking I shredded red cabbage and diced green apples. When the bacon was cooked down and the fat was rendered I added caraway seed, salt and pepper, cider vinegar, dark brown sugar, and orange juice. Then I added the cabbage and apples put a lid on the pot and let everything cook down stirring it every so often. The bratwurst was tasty and some people had more than one order.

In the evening David childers and Friends played a show in The Upper Wine Room. As we always do for a show we opened the kitchen for dinner service. For dinner service we offer our full menu, tapas menu, and chef's special. I offered yet another one of my favorite Italian entrees as the dinner special. I served Chicken Piccata. Tender sauteed chicken scaloppine finished in a lemon-caper sauce. Served over orzo pasta with sauteed vegetable medley.