Part 2 - Stagiaire, and Bourbon Pear - My time with the Sunday Dinner Club

Let me begin by saying that if you haven't read the previous post, then stop now, and go read to previous.  This way you get the whole picture and understand why this is such an amazing experience.

Now, let's get down to business.  I loved my meal at the Sunday Dinner Club so much that I just had to try to stage there.  There was so much passion and love, I wanted to work side by side with the folks that turned out such a great meal.  So I asked if I could stage.  Becca gave me her contact info, and we set it up.  Oh, and for those that do not know, a "stage" or "stagiaire", basically means an intern.  I observe, assist, and whatever else they ask me to do, all for no pay, but a massive amount of experience and the opportunity to be with people that have passion in their craft.  That to me is priceless.

Now, before I begin, check them out here - http://sundaydinnerclub.com and the business downstairs, Honey Butter Fried Chicken - http://www.honeybutter.com

I walked into the amazingly small kitchen, remember this was an apartment renovated into a dining experience.  Not much was done to change the kitchen.  A workspace in the center of the kitchen, a speed rack next to the non industrial stove/oven, another small workspace behind the center workspace, and another bit of work space in what I would consider a pantry space.  But this team makes magic with this space!  And that stove, look at that stove.  That thing is a workhorse!

Tonights meal was a wine dinner.  Sunday Dinner Club paired with Vinejoy - http://vinejoy.net/jkkajatt2lrummc6259h08hillmwop, to bring a night of great food paired with great wines.  How do I know they were great?  Well, because the other perk to staging with the Sunday Dinner Club is the tasting!  And the crew behind the meal tonight, Josh Kulp, Christina Cicowski, Becca, Alison, Julia, and Irma.

The menu is another brilliant creation by KITEMATH.  Check out the pictures and see if you can decipher it.  The first person wins something that you will never want to part with.

Now let's go through the menu.

First course was a Hamachi Crudo, dressed with grilled nectarines, red chillies, and mint.  The photos were taken prior to being dressed with the mint and nectarines.  This was my first photo while staging, so I wasn't sure what was going to be happening for service.  None the less, it shows a beautiful Hamachi, delicately dressed with a slightly sweet Thai chili.

Hamachi is a beautiful fish and Chef Kulp, while preparing the fish, treated it like he was treating a new born baby.  It's a delicate fish, with a very mellow, clean flavor.  Using it for crude was perfect and the dressing, not over done.  You could taste each individual flavor, starting with the fish, finishing with the mint.  And I think the mint, touching the back of your tongue is a great way to finish this.  The plating of each dish is careful and precise with being pretentious.

Now, I'm not very knowledgeable about wine or pairing it with food, however I will tell you that this first course was paired with a Thompson Vineyard Grenache Blanc.

Next on the menu-Elderflower Orange Chicken Wings, with Szechuan peppercorns, turnips, and pickled onions.  Now, before you turn your nose up with the turnips, hear me out.  They are not that bad.  They are more than the overcooked, smelly, scary root vegetable that nightmares were made of as a child.  When treated right, they are a delicious root vegetable and very versatile.

To begin with, the wings were baked for a bit, but not cooked through, then cooled.  When it came time to serve, the deep fryers were prepped, and we were ready to make wing magic. I coated the wings in rice flour(you get  a crispier crisp with rice flour), and placed in the deep fryer.  Then they were removed cooled, and given a second fry where they crisped like I had never seen before.  They developed a beautiful brown color and the skin was crisp without a thick layer of breading.  They were then dressed with fresh cracked Szechuan peppercorns, followed by a glaze of Elderflower Orange glaze.

Now, if you are unfamiliar with Elderflower liquer, check out St. Germain.  For me, St. Germain is ok, in very small doses.  I thought it came off as a very bitter, herbaceous flavor.  I was never a fan, however reducing the St. Germain with the addition of citrus, changed the flavor dramatically.  It was slightly sweet and delightfully syrupy.  This glaze hugged the wings and covered every inch perfectly.

The taste-Slightly sweet, even balanced with a nice burn from the peppercorns.  The chicken was juicy, the skin was crispy, even with the glaze, and suddenly something starts happening to your mouth.  Your mouth starts to feel a little numb.  A really cool feeling once you understand that is a natural reaction to fresh ground szechuan peppercorns.  And these were definitely the best wings I've ever had.

After glazed, the wings were dressed with a perfectly picked onion and the julienned turnips.

The wine paired for this course - Bien Nacido Vineyard Viognier.

Ahh, ok, time for a beer and a bit of bourbon to knock out the rest of the meal.

Alright, third course - Housemade Cavatelli Pasta, dressed with bacon, honey roasted cauliflower, black olive tapenade, and parsley gremolata.

Cavatelli, has an origin of Naples.  It's shape resembles a hot dog bun, but rolled on the sides.  It's made to be served with a heavy sauce, because those ridges can grab the sauce and hold more.

I've never been a fan of olives and black olives to me, should never come into play in any kitchen, so when I heard that tapenade was being served with the cavatelli, I was extremely skeptical.  But my mind may have been changed this night.  I think the combination of the bacon with the tapenade, I think took the bitterness that I find with black olives.  And when you roast cauliflower, it adds a level of flavor by sweetening up that cauliflower.  The parsley gremolata brightened up the dish.  The colors of the cavatelli reminded me of the Italian flag.

The pasta was paired with a Santa Barbara County Syrah.

This next course put me over my limit.  But the misery that I felt was well worth it!  I have to admit that I took half home, reluctantly.  The Patty Melt, yes, patty melt.  That infamous sandwich that you see on every diner menu, every family restaurant menu, and I can even remember seeing them on the menu of drugstores when drugstores had counter service.  For some reason, I was always the one to shy away from this sandwich.  As a youngster, I didn't realize that it was essentially a cheeseburger on bread, however tonight, tonight it was more than that.

Tonight's patty melt was a griddled patty of a mix of ground pork and beef.  It was topped with a Goat's milk brie from Prairie Fruit Farms(Champaign, IL), caramelized onion agrodolce(a traditional sweet and sour sauce in Italian cuisine), roasted red pepper rouille(a french sauce that consists of olive oil with breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron, and chili peppers), on toasted rye, served with charred kale.

I haven't been able to look at a cheeseburger the same after having this patty melt.  The pork complimented the beef, the agrodolce and rouille held hands as the flavors danced on the tastebuds, and the creamy brie bound everything together leaving a sweet, mellow flavor on the back of your tongue.

The charred kale were a nice addition as opposed to french fries.  When you touch heat to kale, it takes away some of that bitterness as well as makes it easier to chew and digest.  Touched with a little salt, you have the perfect accompaniment.

The Patty Melt was paired with Thompson Vineyard Petite Sirah.

Fortunately for my stomach, but unfortunately for this experience we come to the final course, dessert.  Now for some people, particularly for my Sister, the pear is her nemesis.  And I know she is not alone.  I hear people say that they don't care for the pear's gritty texture.  I won't get all Alton Brown on you, just know that all pears are not gritty, I promise.

The dessert for tonight was Bourbon Pear Upside Down Cake.  I know, pear upside down cake?  Yes, you can do something besides pineapple upside down cake and you are not violating any culinary rules by doing this.  The cake rested in a smooth layer of Anglaise(a light pouring custard, used a dessert cream or sauce).  It was topped with a bit of pecan crumble.  Even the person that dislikes bourbon would appreciate this dessert, but let's be realistic here, who doesn't like bourbon?  Well, ok, I can think of a few people, but I can overlook that.  And this was a terrific way to finish off the meal.

Dessert was paired with Bien Nacido Late Harvest Viognier.

This was by far the best experience I've had with a stage.  This was truly like cooking with friends, for friends.  The folks that came in to eat were all very friendly, not only to us, but between one another as well.  It really was like a big party, and everyone had the same interest in being there, to eat great food, and to celebrate the chance to be at the Sunday Dinner Club.  And many thanks to Josh, Christina, Becca, Alison, Julia, and Irma for giving me this opportunity and to make me feel like I was part of this family.

I highly suggest you email them, get on the list, and if you get the opportunity, eat there, it will change your idea on what dining out is.

By the way, I was able to return for a second stage, and just when you thought it couldn't get any better, the second experience rocked!  That blog will be coming soon!!

Thanks for reading everyone!!

Southern Fare, Stagiaire, and Bourbon Pear - My time with the Sunday Dinner Club - Part 1

"Back in the day" there was a family ritual.  This was at a time when there were no smart phones, video games, home computers, and Sunday night football.  When families interacted with each other, not via text messages, but actually used their inside voices.

Times have changed over the years.  Now, a Sunday dinner is difficult to find, although it is still there, somewhere.  My Brothers John and David, down in Nashville stick to the tradition of at least a Sunday gathering, whether it be dinner or brunch.  And let me tell you, I've had some amazing meals on Sunday's while visiting them, on a Sunday.  We put down our electronic devices and talk and eat and drink and eat some more.  And then sit on the couch and drink and all is well.  And this is what should be happening in homes around the country, because it's just right.  It brings family and friends together and everyone leaves happy and full.  How does that sound like a bad thing.

This brings me to Josh Kulp, Christine Cikowski, Becca, Allison, Julia, and Irma(sp.).  These folks are the amazing people that have brought back the idea of Sunday Dinner with the Sunday Dinner Club. http://sundaydinnerclub.com

Josh and Christine began the Sunday Dinner Club after bringing back the Sunday dinner tradition at home.  A)Because as classically trained chefs, they wanted to shy away from the mad rush of the restaurant scene and B)They basically want to make friends, family, and strangers happy, by cooking food that Josh and Christine enjoy, I mean, shouldn't that be the ultimate goal?

 One great bonus for diners is the fact that Josh and Christine try to keep their products local.  Leaving a very small footprint.  Sometimes, that can certainly be a challenge, especially when it comes to seafood, but knowing your purveyor when you have to go beyond local, makes a difference as well.  For example, their most recent dinner with Vinejoy(A local wine distributor of fine California wines), featured a crudo(raw fish) of beautiful Hamachi(Japanese Amberjack or Yellowtail).  Obviously, something not caught or farmed here in the US, unless I missed something.  Other than that, they keep it real and local and real local.

My first experience with Sunday Dinner Club, was for their Southern Menu.  This, as most of their dinners are byob, so we brought a bottle of wine and an empty stomach.  Now, the club is located at Roscoe and Elston, in what was once what appeared to be an apt, right above Josh's restaurant-Honey Butter Fried Chicken.  The entrance is inconspicuous, just a door with a buzzer.  When you are buzzed in, you walk up the steps to a communal dining area.  You'll find 3 tables with 8 chairs and you are seated as you walk in.  It's a very comfortable atmosphere, especially if you are a return member.  This was our first time, so we were a bit shy and quiet.  However, the other people at our table were return guests, and came prepared ready to mix their Mint Juleps to keep with the Southern theme.  It was boisterous in the dining area, with great conversation and laughter.  Then the crew came out to give everyone a run down of the history of Sunday Dinner Club and Honey Butter Fried Chicken.  Then we discussed the menu for the evening.   Oh, speaking of menu's, for every theme, a menu is specially designed.

On to the food!!  First course - Housemade Saltines with Pimento Cheese.  Thanks to Josh and the crew, I've decided I could put Pimento cheese on everything!  This was an awesomely creamy, cheesy, delicious treat.  The crackers were perfectly crispy with just enough salt, that when combined with the cheese, left just a subtle salty bite on the back of your tongue.  If you have never tried pimento cheese I urge you, do it and do it soon.  But remember, not all pimento cheese is the same.  Try making your own, the recipes are out there.  And please pardon the photo quality.  I was using my iPhone and it was quite dark and I didn't want to use my flash.

Next course - Salad - When I was young, my family would travel to Louisiana to visit my Mother's side of the family.  Without fail, on each visit, my Aunt Dwena and Uncle Jessie would have dinner at their place.  What I can remember was everything fried.  Fried catfish, fried hush puppies, and french fries.  So when my salad was placed in front of me, I was automatically thrown back to those days.  Except on a different level.  The salad was a smoked catfish, crisp market greens, perfectly fried corn hush puppy croutons, pickled melon rinds(and my Mother used to tell me not to eat the white parts, hah!), and a perfectly balanced honey vinaigrette.

If you are not a fan of catfish, this will definitely change your mind.  Sometimes, smoked meats can be a bit overwhelmingly smokey.  And as delicate as fish is, you have to be very careful when adding smoke, however Josh managed to nail this perfectly.  The pickled melon rind did make me rethink eating that part of the melon and I'm afraid if Mom would've been pickling melon rind all this time, I may have been willing to skip the fruit and go straight for the rind.  The hush puppy croutons?  I could have locked myself in a room, turned off the lights, poured a little bourbon, and eaten a bowl of the croutons.  And the honey vinaigrette bound it all together.  Which takes me back to culinary school and the days of making salads.  The biggest problem quite a few places have is that they bury their salads under heavy dressings.  At the most, you need 4 ounces of dressing, and that's a bit heavy depending on the size of the salad.  This salad was well dressed, so you could taste everything with just a hint of that vinaigrette.  No flavors were masked.  If you want to eat a salad for the dressing, just have a cup of dressing.  Once again, pardon the photo.

The third course of this Southern menu - the almighty, ever present on most Southern menu's, Shrimp and Grits!  But this wasn't just your typical, run of the mill Shrimp and Grits.  NO!!!  These grits, which are from Kankakee(yes, even Yankees know their grits!), were cooked with a ton of love and some buttermilk.  Holy $%^, $(#*^%, #)*^%)(*#$)*#^)*$^)(#*(%^)(#*^*^^^@&(#*%!!!!!!!  Sadly, my palate developed slowly as I grew up, so shrimp and grits for me were just discovered over the last few years.  After having this bowl of awesomeness topped with incredibleness, filled with I'm going to pass the $^% out because the flavor rocks, has changed my entire outlook on shrimp and grits.

So, as I said, the grits, cooked with buttermilk, topped with delicious, and perfectly cooked shrimp, then add some olive oil poached cherry tomatoes, pickled green tomatoes(which go great on everything!), and crispy !@#$%^& chicken skin(imagine chicken skin fried into chips!)  You, you look at the picture!  Me?  I'm going to have a moment.

Where do you even find room for another course?  But these culinary masters will not send you home hungry, and this brings us to the fourth course.  Before me sat this beautiful Grilled Pork Tenderloin with an Apricot BBQ glaze.  This was rested on a bed of Country Ham fried rice.  Sharing this plate were green beans topped with peanuts and Carolina Gold Rice.

Where to begin?  The tenderloin was grilled, sliced and topped with a traditional Carolina bbq sauce, however to mix things up a bit, a puree' of apricot was added.  The tenderloin was moist, and the sauce was just sweet enough to play well with the pork.  The green beans were prepared with a bit of fish sauce(Do not be intimidated by that.  When touched with heat, the flavor of fish sauce plays well with whatever else you are adding to it).  Then crushed peanuts were placed on the beans, as well as Carolina Gold Rice, which had been cooked, cooled, and deep fried.  What is Carolina Gold Rice?  Well, since this blog is getting a bit wordy, I suggest you google it, then go to Amazon and order some.  You will not be disappointed and you will be eating history.

Where does this Southern food orgy end?  With pie of course!  I've learned from my Aunt and Uncle that every dinner must end with pie and coffee.  I don't know if it's a Southern tradition, but if it isn't, it sure should be.

I've never been a fan of cooked fruit.  It's always been a textural thing with me.  Fruit pies always smelled great, but I didn't want any part of them.  Give me my chocolate pie, coconut cream pie, lemon pie, or a good old cheesecake and I was happy, but none of this cooked fruit business.  One exception, was my Grandma Fletcher's Sweet Potato Pie, which I could sit and eat an entire pie in one setting.  So, tonight, this was something that I was going to overcome, because A)I did not want to insult anyone back there slaving away to feed us and B)The meal had not been a disappointment, so I was sure that this would help me overcome my fear of cooked fruit.  Tonight's dessert was a Peach Pie ala mode.

This pie was not traditional in the sense of crust, filling, top crust.  The filling, the Georgia peaches were baked separately from the crust.  The filling was then placed in a bowl, and topped with a traditional crumble.  A wedge of crust was added as well, to give you the best of both worlds, pie and crumble.  Then the topper was a scoop of black pepper ice cream.  I know, I know, black pepper ice cream?  I've had black pepper gelato and it was peppery!  So I was a bit worried, however this was much different.  Josh and his crew used a sour cream base for this ice cream, which I think may have mellowed out that black pepper punch.  The ice cream had an amazing sweetness, but not overwhelming.  And the black pepper snuck past the tip of your tongue, and then tapped you on the back of the tongue, just to say "hey, I'm really here, and you really love having me in your mouth"!  It was a perfect pairing and a perfect way to end a great meal.  One that I will not forget for a long time to come.

It was after this meal, that I decided to approach Josh and Christine about staging one night.  They welcomed me to stage, and what happened next, well, that will have to wait for the next blog.

Good night and I promise, the next blog will be worded a little more precise, and the photos are much better quality.