2025 Food Festival: January – Buckwheat Flour
This year, Chef Andrew Smith, Culinary Director, curated our Food Festivals and prepared some delicious recipes to help celebrate the ingredient! We’re kicking off with
By CPS Events at The Plaza
No one can deny that the world’s appetite is shifting. 2019 was dubbed “The Year of the Vegan” by the Economist. Major surveys conclude that one out of every five Europeans is eating plant-based and one out of every three Americans under the age of 35 is eating mostly plant-based.
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While some may fear such a sudden shift in consumer demands, here at The Plaza, we’re excited by such changes. This shift means innovation in the area we love the most: food. It’s an amazing opportunity to get creative and try new things. Recently, we’ve ventured into plant-based foods and are thrilled about all the options available on the market. Our most recent tasting had us drooling over raw, organic, gluten-and-dairy-free desserts from Nat’s Rawline. The desserts were incredible and we were quick to say “YES, we love it.”
We also ventured into trying some vegan wines complete with a vegan cheese plate (who knew wine wasn’t vegan?) and we’ve settled on one of the finest wines found in Italy called Querciabella. This wine is completely biodynamic (meaning, a step above organic, using herbs and plants to optimize the soil and grape growth). The most exciting parts about these new trends, is that it’s just starting to catch fire and the best is yet to come as ingredients and food-tech become more and more ingenious.
By Afiya Witter
Last month, as a team building experience, our staff members at CPS Events at The Plaza joined Volunteers of America at Operation Backpack. Operation Backpack is a back to school drive that services children living in New York City shelters. Volunteers sporting Operation Backpack t-shirts fill Brand new backpacks in a variety of styles with grade- appropriate supplies. A few groups of children visit the area to assist the volunteers with filling their newly handpicked backpacks with all the items from the supply list. Volunteering for a great cause while witnessing children beaming with pride, ready to start the new school year was an enriching experience for our team. We thoroughly enjoyed making sure each pack being filled was efficiently and with love!
By Kiki Adami
Fettucini Alfredo can still be rich, creamy and buttery without all of the dairy elements. Even better, you can prepare this delicious entree in under 30 minutes following the recipe below. Bon Appetit!
Vegan Mushroom Fettuccini Alfredo
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Serves 2
Ingredients
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2 garlic cloves, chopped into small pieces
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½ white onion, chopped into small pieces
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½ tsp pink himalayan sea salt
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2 portobello mushrooms tops, chopped into dices
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10 asparagus stalks, chopped into small pieces
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1 tsp black pepper
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1 cup full fat coconut milk
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1 tsp black truffle oil, divided
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Fresh cilantro, chopped
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1 tbsp nutritional yeast
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½ cup pine nuts
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Hand full chopped kale
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½ tsp garlic powder
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½ tsp onion powder
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Virgin coconut oil
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Fettuccini pasta
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½ cup filtered water
Procedure
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Begin boiling water for pasta – once at a boil, add pasta and stir occasionally.
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Put fresh onion, garlic, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil into a pan and let it cook on medium for 5 minutes.
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In a blender place pine nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and a ½ tsp of truffle oil. Blend until it resembles a parmesan cheese consistency. Place mix in a bowl on the side for later use.
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Once garlic/onions have started to brown, add a handful of kale, mushrooms and asparagus. Let kale and mushrooms cook for another 5 minutes on medium. Add coconut oil accordingly. If you’re trying to keep your oil intake low, then you can add table spoons of filtered water in place of oil.
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Let ingredients cook on medium for another five minutes and then add 1 cup of full fat coconut milk and the remaining truffle oil and let the coconut milk absorb all the flavors.
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Add filtered water if it becomes too thick.
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Once pasta is done, drain and rinse pasta.
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To serve, place noodles on a plate and top to your liking with the creamy alfredo sauce, pine nut parmesan and fresh cilantro.
By Great Performances
Holiday season is right around the corner—but don’t worry, there’s still time to plan one! Engagement is everything, and our team of event experts have given us the scoop on trends that are sure to delight guests and create an extra buzz at your event.
Personalization
Branded food and drinks have always been popular, but in this age of the #selfie, consider letting your guests put their faces on cocktails!
Chef Engagement
Interactive stations are always a hit. Guests enjoy watching chefs work their magic and getting a dish that’s freshly made for them. From freshly shaved cheeses to pizza by the inch or a carving station (we can do meat or vegetables!) to the dazzling artistry of the Chef’s Palate (pun intended), which can be savory or sweet.
DIY Food Stations
Guests enjoy self-service options, particularly those that include a fun display. From pretzel trees to fresh-from-the-toaster pastries and a pastry filling station, these provide fun, quick opportunities for guests to have a hand in preparing their food.
By Great Performances
Plant-based foods have been gaining momentum lately, especially in the fast food world. It’s not surprising as these venues are more accessible points for consumers to interact with plant-based foods, particularly those who may have reservations about going meatless. At Great Performances, we’re delighted to see plant-based foods becoming more mainstream. It’s a lifestyle we’ve advocated for decades now and spans Katchkie Farm, our NOFA-certified organic farm in upstate New York which serves as the inspiration for many of our dishes and to our adoption of Meatless Monday for our family meals.
Vegan Demi-Glace Ingredients; Photo Credit: ©Chip Klose
This past year, our chefs have been innovating in the kitchen and have developed a vegan demi-glace which is not only 100% plant-based, but in sync with our mission of sustainability, reducing food waste, and lowering our carbon footprint. Made from vegetable trimmings, including carrot tops, onion roots and radish scraps, they’re cleaned, roasted and simmered into an umami-rich, mouth-wateringly delicious sauce that complements many of our dishes—vegan and otherwise. A traditional demi-glace is made with veal stock, which has myriad implications. Our vegan demi-glace is ethical, sustainable and delicious.
Our Chefs share their inspiration Behind the vegan demi-glace:
As chefs, many practices are rooted deeply in tradition–beautiful traditions that create beautiful food–and the veal demi-glace is undoubtedly one. And while tradition is great, here at Great Performances, we wield a responsibility to act not only because our impact is so profound, but because when we act, others follow.
With the strong culinary technique brought in by Chef Thomas Alford, if you have the ability to take a beautiful culinary tradition and re-imagine it to create a brighter future–while still making mouth-watering food–you do it!
Justin Schwartz, Executive Sous Chef, Catering Production
Here at Great Performances, we have access to many farmers, including our own at Katchkie Farm, who provide us with beautiful produce day in and day out. Within our high volume operation, we naturally produce a lot of waste, so instead of simply disposing of the waste, we take full advantage of our abundance and incorporate that into our menus. We utilize everything, employing expert practices and techniques, from mushroom stems to onion peel—even the ends and seeds of vegetables that are typically thrown away.
I took it upon myself, with the help of the GP production team, to collect as many vegetable scraps as possible to create something that exemplifies the love and diligent efforts of the workers from the farms and delivers it to the tastebuds and stomachs of our clients. From there, the vegan demi-glace was developed; it started in the depths of our earth where we are all from. We at Great Performances work hard to protect it, and it tastes so good!
Thomas Alford, Sous Chef
Professional Learning: Between The World And Me In The Classroom
Wednesday, October 2 from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Through hands-on activities and discussion, explore how to integrate Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book, Between the World and Me, into the classroom curriculum. Together, using elements from both the book and the Apollo Theater’s groundbreaking theatrical event, we will develop strategies to connect your students to this work’s biggest questions surrounding race and American history. Get your tickets here.
Apollo Comedy Club Presents: John Phillips, Ty Davis, Billy Sorrells
Hosted By Terry Hodges
Thursday, October 3 at 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm
The Apollo Comedy Club celebrates the Theater’s rich comedic roots. Presented in partnership with the legendary Bob Sumner (producer of Def Comedy Jam, creator of LaffMobb on Aspire), the Apollo Comedy Club features the best up and coming talent in comedy today. The comedy shows precedes the Theater’s weekend music series, Apollo Music Café, extending the Theater’s late-night offerings. Learn more here.
The Apollo Documentary: Advance Screening
Friday, October 4 at 7:00 pm
In advance of the HBO premiere in November, the Apollo Theater hosts a community screening of the HBO documentary, The Apollo, directed by Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams. The Apollo chronicles the unique history and contemporary legacy of the New York City landmark. This feature-length documentary weaves together rare archival footage, performances, and intimate behind-the-scenes verité from the stage adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, exploring the current struggle for racial justice in America, the role that art plays in that struggle and the broad range of African American achievement that the Apollo Theater represents.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with members of the creative team. Learn how to get your standby tickets here.
Common – Let Love Tour
With Special Guest Jamilla Woods
Tuesday, October 8 at 8:00 pm
Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy and Grammy-winning artist, actor and activist, Common returns to the Apollo stage to celebrate the release of his second book, Let Love Have the Last Word and his latest studio album, Let Love. This one-night-only New York City concert showcases Common’s own unique and personal stories of the people and experiences that have led to a greater understanding of love and all it has to offer. Get your tickets here.
Bowery Presents: Tank And The Bangas
With Special Guest: Pell
Saturday, October 19 at 8:00 pm
Coming from New Orleans, Tank and the Bangas are surrounded by plenty of grand musical traditions. And the five-piece group has a rare knack for combining various musical styles – fiery soul, deft hip-hop, deep-groove R&B and subtle jazz – into one dazzling, cohesive whole that evokes the scope of New Orleans music while retaining a distinctive feel all its own. Get your tickets here.
IF WE WERE XYZ
Thursday, Oct 17 from 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Indonesian artist Melati Suryodarmo premieres a durational performance work IF WE WERE XYZ at Asia Society. In this new work, she explores dreams – both in the sense of the subconscious experiences we have while sleeping and the conscious aspirations we have when awake. Learn more here.
2019 Asia Game Changer Awards
Thursday, October 24 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
In partnership with Citi, Asia Society annually honors game-changing leaders from a broad geographic range and varied backgrounds; this year marks the first time that all of the honorees are women. Get your tickets here.
2019 BAM Member Bash
Thursday, October 10 at 8:00 pm
This year’s BAM Member Bash features acclaimed absurdist illusionist performance-art trio Elephant Room, which comprises contemporary clowns Geoff Sobelle, Trey Lyford and Steve Cuiffo with sultry tunes spun and fine beats mixed by Philadelphia’s own Madame Luv. After the performance, stick around to mingle and dance with fellow BAM supporters. Learn more here.
Member Mingle
Thursday, October 17 at 6:30 pm
Meet fellow BAM Members and the BAM Membership team at a pre-show reception with complimentary wine and snacks. Stop by before a performance or film screening (or just join us for a quick drink before dinner in the neighborhood). Open to all BAM members. Learn more here.
Next Wave 2019
2019 Next Wave Art Opening Reception
Friday, Oct 18 at 5:00 pm
Join BAM for drinks and snacks at the opening of When A Pot Finds Its Purpose. View the works in BAM’s brand new gallery, with artist Glenn Kaino and curator Larry Ossei-Mensah in attendance. Learn more here.
He Did What?
Sunday, October 27 – Saturday, November 2 at 7:00 pm
Projected on the side of a building, and broadcast to audience members’ headphones, He Did What? is a 10-minute animated, graffiti-style street opera for curious onlookers. Drop by, tune in and find out what happens. Learn more here.
Inoah
Thursday, October 31 – Saturday, November 2 at 7:30 pm
Street style meets athletic hip-hop in Brazilian choreographer Bruno Beltrão’s intoxicating, heart-stopping, gravity-defying experiment. With almost weightless physicality, the 10 male dancers of Grupo de Rua break, hover, and catapult across the stage in a visceral display of tension and release, their bodies propelled in a plea for freedom. Learn more here.
Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion
July 20, 2019 – January 5, 2020
Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion is the first New York retrospective in forty years to focus on the legendary couturier. Drawn primarily from Pierre Cardin’s archive, the exhibition traverses the designer’s decades-long career at the forefront of fashion invention.
Stop by The Norm at Brooklyn Museum before (or after) the exhibit for Maxim’s at The Norm, an homage to Pierre Cardin’s restaurant, Maxim’s de Paris. The menu features classic dishes from the Maxim’s de Paris cookbook and seasonal dishes inspired by the iconic restaurant.
JR: Chronicles
October 4, 2019 – May 3, 2020
Showcasing murals, photographs, videos, films, dioramas and archival materials, JR: Chronicles is the first major exhibition in North America of works by the French-born artist. Working at the intersections of photography, social engagement, and street art, JR collaborates with communities by taking individual portraits, reproducing them at a monumental scale, and wheat pasting them – sometimes illegally – in nearby public spaces. Learn more here.
F.A.M. (Family Art Magic)
Sunday, October 6 from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
In Family Art Magic classes, the magic word is collaboration. Children ages 4 to 6 and their adult companions explore together to discover the world through art, play fun gallery games and make their own masterpieces in the studio. Learn more here.
Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra: Wagner, Brahms And Vaughan Williams
Sunday, October 27 from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra opens its 46th season (and its first as Brooklyn Museum Orchestra in Residence) with music by Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms, led by guest conductor Ian Shafer. Learn more here.
Veronica Swift
Featuring The Emmet Cohen Trio; Presented In Collaboration With Jazz At Lincoln Center
Saturday, October 12 at 8:00 pm
Veronica Swift returns to Caramoor after her rousing and lively performance at Caramoor’s 2018 Jazz Festival. At only 25 years old, she has performed all over the world with the top names in jazz and has won prestigious awards such as second place at the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in 2015. Learn more here.
Sherezade Panthaki, Soprano With The Helicon Ensemble
Sunday, October 20 at 3:00 pm
First introduced to Caramoor audiences in 2018’s Atalanta, soprano Sherezade Panthaki is an acknowledged star in the early-music world. With a lush and commanding voice, she remains “wonderfully agile, riding her rapid vibrato up and down passagework and trills with admirable fluency” (The Wall Street Journal). In this program featuring both instrumental and vocal pieces, Panthaki is joined by the Helicon ensemble. Learn more here.
Spooky Tales
Wednesday, October 30 at 3:30pm
Come with your little ones to a riveting storytelling performance to begin your Halloween weekend, followed by a special brew (hot cider) and other ghostly treats (cookies) served in the Summer Dining Room. Come in costume. Prizes given to all. Ages 3-8. Learn more here.
Eric Reed Quartet: Mainly Monk
Friday, October 25 at 7:30 pm
A consummate pianist and former member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Eric Reed first toured with Wynton Marsalis at age 18, and he continues to work with the world’s top jazz luminaries. As a leading contributor to the lineage of expertly swinging jazz music, Reed has recorded dozens of albums as a leader. Learn more here.
Trevor Watkis Quintet: The Music Of Dizzy Reece
Tuesday, October 22 at 7:30 pm
A new super-group swings by Dizzy’s Club as part of a cross-continental tour. Expect hard-swinging, time-tested jazz performed with fresh arrangements and some of the top improvisers and rhythm players in modern jazz. Catch them tonight in the jazz capital of the world and the city that the great Mr. Reece now calls home. Learn more here.
Opening Reception: ‘Alina Szapocznikow’
Tuesday, October 29 at 6:00 pm
Hauser & Wirth warmly invites you to the opening reception of the first solo exhibition devoted to Alina Szapocznikow since undertaking representation of the artist’s estate in May 2018. The visceral, playful and uncanny aspects of the human bodily experience lay at the center of Szapocznikow’s oeuvre. Learn more here.
Lincoln Center White Light Festival Presents: Sugimoto Bunraku
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (U.S. production premiere)
Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 pm
Experience a bold interpretation of a classic Japanese drama, told through bunraku puppet theater from renowned artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. Learn more here.
A Swingin’ Sesame Street Celebration: 50 Years And Counting
Friday, October 25 at 7:00 pm
Sesame Street comes to Jazz at Lincoln Center for a swinging celebration of the show’s 50th anniversary. See some of your favorite feathered and furry friends like Big Bird and Elmo sing classic Sesame Street songs alongside the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Learn more here.
Fires In The Mirror
October 22 – December 1, 2019
Following the deaths of a Black American boy and a young Orthodox Jewish scholar in the summer of 1991, underlying racial tensions in the nestled community of Crown Heights, Brooklyn erupted into a civil outbreak. Fires in the Mirror was Anna Deavere Smith’s groundbreaking response. Birthed from a series of interviews with over fifty members of the Jewish and Black communities, the Drama Desk award-winning work translated their voices verbatim, and in the process revolutionized the genre of documentary theatre. Get your tickets here.
Nature Into Art: The Gardens Of Wave Hill – A Conversation Moderated By Stephen Orr
Sunday, October 6 from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Nature into Art explores different areas of the gardens, with helpful information about the plants, techniques and design choices that define this remarkable garden. Learn more here.
Vulture Culture: A Live Bird Presentation
Saturday, October 19 at 2:00 pm
Observe vultures and other scavenging birds of prey and hear about their adaptive (and somewhat cringe-worthy) behaviors with Brian Robinson of Robinson Wildlife Lectures. Learn more here.
By Great Performances
This month we’re celebrating pumpkins. Pumpkins are a true sign of cooler weather and the shift into exciting fall holidays. Harvested in October, pumpkins are completely edible from seed to skin, making them extremely versatile and perfect for soups, purees, desserts, breads and more. In addition to their versatility, pumpkins are packed with nutrients such as Vitamins A and B, potassium, protein and iron. They are also low in calories and high in fiber, making them a great addition to your daily diet.
For best results, store pumpkins at room temperature in a cool, dry place for up to a month.
Enjoy our favorite pumpkin dishes at our venues and be sure to try our recipes below or check out the Katchkie Farm recipe archive.
Celebrate Pumpkins at our Cafés
October 13-19
THE NORM AT BROOKLYN MUSEUM
PUMPKIN PANCAKES
stewed apples and honey yogurt
THE CAFÉ AT WAVE HILL
PUMPKIN SPICED MUFFINS
THE ROTH BAR AT HAUSER AND WIRTH
SPICED PUMPKIN LATTE
BAM CAFÉ AT BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC
PUMPKIN FLAN
SIGNATURE CAFÉ AT SIGNATURE THEATRE
WARM PUMPKIN SPICED APPLE CIDER
DIZZY’S CLUB AT JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER
PUMPKIN SALAD
PUMPKIN TURNOVER
By Chef Vanay Coffey, Great Performances
Ingredients
1 large (3-5 lb) pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
½ stick butter, melted
3 tbsp pumpkin spice
1 tsp salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ cup evaporated milk
1 cup cream cheese
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 2-lb packages puff pastry or pie crust dough
Egg wash
Raw sugar (optional)
Confectioner’s sugar (optional)
Procedure
Toss pumpkin chunks with melted butter, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Bake in 375°F oven 20 minutes or until tender.
Puree pumpkin with vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, brown sugar and evaporated milk until smooth. Puree should be thick enough to stay on spoon when scooped.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth.
Follow directions for puff pastry or pie dough and cut into 5” squares. Place a tablespoon of pumpkin mix and a teaspoon of cream cheese mix in center of dough square. Paint egg wash on the edges and fold one corner towards the other to form a triangle. Press tines of a fork along the seams to seal the edges. Slice 2-3 slits in center of triangle to create an air pocket. Brush with additional egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar (optional).
Place turnovers on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 1-inch between each turnover, and bake in 375°F oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from oven, and let cool. Optional: garnish with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
By Great Performances
As we head into the fall/winter wedding season, we consulted with Emily Schreiber and Amanda DiUglio from Great Performances and Emily Reifel at The Plaza Hotel, our resident wedding experts, to see what trends they’ve been noticing. They’ve identified some standout elements that couples requested and that added an extra-special touch to the weddings. Not only were the elements Instagram-worthy, but they also wowed guests and created unforgettable experiences.
CUSTOM COCKTAILS
Signature or custom cocktails are a great way to add a personal touch to your reception. More and more couples are trading in traditional champagne flutes for “boozy pop” cocktails as their guests arrive at the reception. Couples are also adding their spin to their favorite traditional cocktails; why settle for a regular Paloma when it can be “Colby’s Paloma”?
HANGING GREENERY
Hanging greenery is a great way to elevate your ceremony or reception decor while adding life and height to the space. Bring the outdoors inside, or enhance your outdoor scenery with leafy decor. Not to be limited to light or ceiling fixtures, hanging greenery can also serve as an excellent addition to your food stations, creating a beautiful frame for your favorite food offerings.
By Chef Saul Bolton
MENU
Summer herbs, coconut milk, peekytoe crab
Salad of Shaved Broccoli & Summer Greens
toasted pepitas, lemon juice, oil
ray’s tomatoes, summer squash, garlic, toasted breadcrumbs
lightly whipped cream, crushed amaretti cookies
DO AHEAD
Two Days Before
Purchase beverages and all ingredients for your dishes. Keep in mind how many you’re cooking for and don’t forget the basics (e.g., olive oil). Also, note the ripening time of peaches and tomatoes – you don’t want under ripe or over ripe fruit.
Put everything away except soup ingredients.
Prepare the soup, chill, and refrigerate.
One Day Before
Clean and prep all your vegetables for the salad and the bass dish. This includes picking your herbs, wrapping them in damp paper towels before placing in a bag, then refrigerate.
Trim your bass filets and remove any bones or scales. Evenly cut the filets into the proper number of portions, place them on a chilled plate, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Prepare the crab, removing any pieces of shell.
Toast your breadcrumbs to a golden brown – don’t be shy with seasoning or with olive oil. Store in an airtight container.
Toast pepitas until they’re fragrant. Store in an airtight container.
Crush your amaretti cookies into roughly, odd-sized crumbs. Cover and reserve.
DAY OF THE MEAL
Before Your Guests Arrive
Double-check the dining area, living area, and kitchen are clean
Place any remaining beverages to be chilled in the fridge (if you don’t have enough room, a cooler of ice water will do the trick)
Chill your salad plates and soup bowls
Preheat your oven
Prepare your salad: and dress with lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well then refrigerate
Prepare the bass: Layer your thinly slices tomatoes, summer squash, garlic, and lemon on the bottom of a baking dish. Season and douse with olive oil. Lightly coat the bass with olive oil then season with salt. Arrange in the baking dish, cover, and place in the fridge
Whip the cream and sweeten it to your liking. Mound in a bowl, cover, and place in the fridge.
Slice your ripe peaches and let them rest, covered, at room temperature.
Prepare the crab: Squeeze dry the peekytoe crab and season with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.
Clean as you go – make sure you always have a bowl of warm, soapy water waiting.
Shower, change and put on some music.
After Your Guests Arrive
Welcome your guests! Enjoy a toast and some conversation.
As folks sit, pour some more beverages, and take a moment to relax and enjoy each other’s company. No rush now….
Time for soup: remove the bowls from the fridge. Place some prepared crab in each bowl. Mix the red pepper soup well, season if needed, and ladle into prepared bowls. Garnish with crab and a shower of herbs as you see fit. Stop to enjoy the music playing and the laughter of your guests. Drizzle some olive oil on the soup and serve.
Chill with your friends enjoying the soup. Talk. This is why we exist.
Clear the soup and put the bowls into soapy water.
Plate the salad (healthy, but oh-so-tasty this time of year!), garnish with the pepitas, and perhaps grab a little Parmesan and shave onto each salad. Serve.
Steal into the kitchen and slip the bass into the 300F oven. Sit and enjoy the salad. More beverages? Yes, of course.
Clear the salad plates and take the bass out of the oven (it’s not quite done) and sprinkle each fillet with the toasted, seasoned breadcrumbs. Put the bass back in the oven for 5 minutes more.
Wash the soup bowls and salad plates.
Remove the bass from the oven and turn off the oven. Gently plate the tomato, squash, and bass. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and serve! Blessed.
Relax and enjoy the entrée – people are feeling happy, conversation and beverages are flowing freely, and your kitchen is close to clean. More beverages and conversation as you linger. Clear the plates.
Pull out some glasses for the dessert. Layer the whipped cream, sliced peaches, and crushed amaretti cookies. Done.
Folks hang out. You’re chilling. It’s been the perfect meal.
OVEN ROASTED LOCAL BLACK BASS
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
PROCEDURE
3 pounds black bass, divided into 6 ½-pound filets
1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Layer thinly sliced squash, tomatoes, garlic, and lemon on the bottom of a seasoned and oiled baking dish. Season again and drizzle with olive oil. Lightly coat bass with olive oil and season with salt. Place in a baking dish and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. The fish is done when it flakes when pressed.
Divide among six plates and serve.
PEACHES WITH AMARETTI COOKIES
INGREDIENTS
PROCEDURE
3 ripe peaches, sliced
6 ounces amaretti cookies
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla
Crush amaretti cookies into rough, odd-sized crumbs.
Whip cream to soft mounds, adding vanilla and sugar to taste.
Layer cream, peaches, and amaretti peaches into dessert glasses, reserving some crushed cookies for garnish. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then garnish with remaining crushed cookies.
More Recipes
Chefs’ Choir: Chef Solanki’s Aloo Gobi Recipe
In celebration of Veganuary, Chef Solanki Roy has shared her version of the classic Indian staple, Aloo Gobi.
Non-alcoholic Cocktail: Orange Creamsicle
Bring back childhood memories: 0.5 oz Vanilla Syrup 3 oz Orange Juice 1 oz Coconut Cream Fill with Ginger Beer
Non-alcoholic Cocktail: Matcha Raspberry Bloom
A green tea twist with a floral touch: 2 tsp Matcha Powder (frothed in hot water) 0.5 oz Raspberry Syrup 1 can Kin Euphorics Bloom
Non-alcoholic Cocktail: Hibiscus Cucumber Highball
A crisp, floral highball with refreshing cucumber notes: 0.75 oz Hibiscus Syrup 2 slices of Cucumber (muddled) 0.75 oz Lemon Juice 2 oz Club Soda
Non-alcoholic Cocktail: Pink Starburst
A creamy, fruity delight: 1 oz Almond Milk 1 oz Pomegranate Juice 0.5 oz Strawberry Puree Fill with Sprite
Non-Alcoholic Cocktail: Astronaut Ice Cream
For a playful nod to nostalgia: 0.5 oz Chocolate Syrup 0.5 oz Orgeat Syrup (contains nuts) 0.5 oz Coconut Cream Fill with Root Beer
Chef’s Choir: Chef Andrew’s Perfect Standing Rib Roast Recipe
Chef Andrew Smith shares his recipe for the perfect Standing Rib Roast. Using confit garlic and a home made rub with fresh herbs, his technique ensures outstanding flavors that will leave your guests lining up for seconds.
By Chef Saul Bolton
When I think about “the perfect meal”, it really rests in knowing your guests. After all, a perfect meal, like beauty, lies within the eye of the beholder. It starts with listening to and observing your friends and loved ones and using that information to come up with a menu and a plan.
The success of the perfect meal is largely predicated on the preparation before. I think this holds true for any event.
Information Gathering
It seems boring, but it’s a critical component of planning a perfect meal. You want all of your guests not only to be able to eat the food you prepare, but to delight in it and to be satiated.
How many people are coming? Ensure you have enough space, seats, and place settings for all of your guests and that you prepare enough food for everyone to be satiated.
Who is coming? You want a mix of guests who will get along with and be comfortable with each other.
What are their tastes, dietary preferences, and any potential allergies? You want everyone to be able to enjoy all aspects of the meal and not be afraid of an allergic reaction.
Know what’s good now – think local, seasonal foods. This is the first step to ensuring delicious dishes as better ingredients more locally sourced and in-season tend to have better flavor.
What style of the meal will you have? Is it a formal or informal meal? Will you have courses? Will you be serving family-style? Is there a theme? This step helps ensure a cohesive meal.
Are you eating inside or outside? This will help determine the timing, temperature considerations, and meal format.
Once you’ve answered those questions, give yourself time to be inspired! Perhaps there’s a specific dish that captures your imagination. You can then build the rest of the menu around it. Or if there’s a theme, using local and seasonal foods can help inform specific dishes you’d like to prepare.
Prep Plan
Once you’ve built your menu, it’s time to plan your prep.
3 or More Days in Advance
Clean your dining, living, and eating areas – vacuum, dust, and wipe down surfaces to make sure your guests are comfortable.
Prepare your kitchen – make sure it’s clean and organized and ready for your meal
Assemble your plates, glasses and silverware and make sure everything is clean and in good condition
Prepare your cooking equipment and ensure you have the tools you’ll need
Review your menu and break out timing of each dish. Identify items that can be prepared in advance. It can help to prepare a day-of timeline along with cooking temperatures
1-2 Days in Advance
Soups, sauces, vinaigrettes and marinades – these can typically be prepared a day or more in advance. Store in air-tight containers, label (to avoid day-of confusion) and keep refrigerated.
Desserts – review your dessert and see which elements can be made in advance.
1 Day in Advance
Proteins – clean and portion your proteins
Vegetables – wash and properly dry lettuce, herbs, and vegetables. Store carefully to prevent wilting or drying out
The Guest Experience
It’s important to make sure you do as much as possible to make your guests feel the love when they walk in the door.
Smell – it should smell great as your guests walk in the door. It could be flowers, garlic, or something roasting. Whatever you think would stimulate your guests’ senses.
Sound – music is very important. It should reflect you, be appropriate to the theme of the meal, but it should not be too obtrusive.
Sight – the dining area should be cared for, clean, homey, and fresh without looking as if too much energy has been exerted. It should feel natural. Flowers, produce, plants, and herbs make great accents.
Touch – I love a special tablecloth and napkins. They add a textural as well as a visual component to the room.
Prepare a drink – a toast and a little conversation are always great before dinner. Prepare an aperitif (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) and some light snacks for guests to enjoy while you prepare the first course.
Planning these things in advance make it possible not only to cook a great meal and to create a great ambiance for your friends, but it enables you to participate in the evening and enjoy yourself. Which brings me to the execution of the meal without sweating.
THE PERFECT MEAL
Summer herbs, coconut milk, peekytoe crab
Salad of Shaved Broccoli & Summer Greens
toasted pepitas, lemon juice, oil
ray’s tomatoes, summer squash, garlic, toasted breadcrumbs
lightly whipped cream, crushed amaretti cookies