When it is really cold outside (like today), one of my favorite things to make is fresh bread. So as I entered my kitchen today with bread on my mind, I started thinking about the beautiful yukon gold potatoes that I have. Well this is the end result; which I must say came out absolutely delicious. We are serving it with a side dish of aged balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil to dip it in. It is simple, classic, and just perfect with a glass of wine at our cozy wine bar. Stay warm out there!
Bon Appetite!
Chef Brian
Rosemary-Potato Foccacia with fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Now that the holidays are behind us, we have a fresh new dessert menu. This is one of our new dessert menu offerings. It was inspired by my daughter Summer, who loves to cook. She made one of these with her grandmother (Lauri Drake) the other night for our family dinner and it was amazing. It is also a great dessert for anyone who is looking for something sweet that is a little lighter. Our Pavlova is a crisp meringue base topped with a fresh mango curd, sweet cream, and strawberries.
We also have two other new desserts on our menu that I will feature in the coming days.
* Note to our regular guests….The Charlotte du Chocolat is still on the dessert menu!
One of the things that makes a neighborhood bistro so great is that in addition to a fresh seasonal menu and nightly featured entrees; there are also those tried and true comfort meals that will always be there for you. This is one of those dishes for us. It has been on our menu for 9 1/2 years and continues to be one of our best selling dishes.
Like everything at 1844 House, we start with only the best quality ingredients. For this dish we use a Certified Black Angus Choice beef tenderloin and cut our steaks fresh daily. We complement the steak with a pinot noir infused demi glace, our signature caramelized shallot-blue cheese butter, crispy fried leeks, and creamy mashed potatoes. The vegetable changes daily, but in this picture we used haricot verte, fresh fennel, and butternut squash puree.
If you are in the mood for a truly great steak dinner, look no further than 1844 House; its always on the menu.
I love cooking duck in the fall/winter season; especially when you can utilize food from the root cellar and local hot houses that are still producing due to our unseasonably warm weather.
For this dish I used a Long Island duck breast. I started by removing the skin so that I could dry rub it and cook it separately for a perfect crisp skin. I then cut it in julienne strips and serve it on top of the potato cakes to keep it crispy. The breast meat is marinated in Amontillado sherry (I love the nutty flavor with poultry), shallots, S&P, and olive oil. The duck is seared and roasted to medium. I cooked the potato cakes in the fat rendered from the skin for maximum duck flavor. To bring it all together; I prepared spinach timbales and fresh pomegranate emulsion . I love the simplicity and creamy texture of fresh spinach with cream, eggs, Pecorino, and a pinch of nutmeg baked until you achieve a slight soufflé. The pomegranate provide a nice hint of tart, much as a cranberry sauce would.
Tonight’s Feature: Prosciutto Arancini. Creamy risotto and prosciutto wrapped around a garlic basil goat cheese center. Fried crisp and served in a savory tomato sauce.
This is one of the delicious desserts from our seasonal dessert menu.
We bake fresh cream puffs and fill them with our house made peppermint ice cream. Then we top them with dark chocolate ganache and sprinkle the top with crushed peppermint candy.
This is the perfect end to a holiday meal or a great late night treat with an espresso at our cozy wine bar.
Sometimes it is just so satisfying to enjoy and old classic dish. Stuffed shrimp is on virtually every menu in south Florida where I grew up…and for a good reason; they are delicious. The important thing about making a dish like this is to use only high quality ingredients. In this case, we used U-15 shrimp and back fin lump crab meat. Keep the filling simple; without a bunch of ingredients that will mask the sweet crab flavor. For the sauce, I wanted something with a little kick; sort of like putting spicy cocktail sauce or hot sauce on your favorite seafood, so I made a spicy tomato beurre blanc using some local chili’s that I dried this fall. I complemented the dish with some fresh brussel sprouts that I lightly blanched in hot water, then pan roasted with brown butter and some of my home made bacon lardons. Sometimes, you don’t want trendy food, you just want great comfort food.
Today I prepared one of the dishes that I have been preparing each fall/winter season since we opened back in 2006. I love the comfort food aspect of it and the fact that it incorporates so many ingredients that can still be found locally/regionally like NY state apples and cider, pork, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, onions, sage from our garden and bread from our local bakery. This dish is Cider Glazed Apple and Sage Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with spiced butternut squash puree and house made bacon sauteed brussel sprouts.
For the late fall/early winter season we are making fresh farmers cheese and pairing it with Niles Apiary honey comb, Spanish marcona almonds, autumn harvest raspberry coulis, mint leaves and freshly baked crackers.
This is a perfect appetizer or dessert and pairs well with many of the wines from our award winning wine list. Bon Appetite! Chef Brian
1844 House – Fine Dining Restaurant and Guest House B&B
