Bringin' the Heat - Week 6

Dinner service went from having about 12 people on Tuesday to an overbooked, full house on Wednesday. This week's menu flowed around Thai flavors. Being as the fact we had two full days of dinner service, we took advantage of the opportunity to fix aspects of the menu that we weren't the biggest fans of on the first day. We were able to adjust the menu and improve the dishes. I was really happy with the adjustments and I think the diners were as well. The biggest change came to our pasta dish. On Tuesday's dinner service thick soba noodles were served in a room temperature broth. To improve the dish for the second day of service, the noodles were coated with a Thai peanut sauced, served warm with Asian Slaw. It was a delightful change both aesthetically and taste.

Amuse Bouche

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Bell Peppers and a Soy-Hoisin Gelee

Bread Course

Onion Bread with Beehive Rosemary Cheddar Butter

Soup Course

Potato, Asiago, Garlic Soup with Bacon Arugula Gelee

Salad Course

Butternut Squash Terrine with Potato Honey Bread and Huckleberry Gastrique

Pasta Course

Udon Noodles with Thai Peanut Sauce, Asian Slaw, Pickled Cucumbers, Edamame,

Pomegranate Seeds with a Caramelized Onion Crisp

Entree Course

Thai Style Halibut with Fried Coconut Risotto Cake, Curry Sauce, and Braised Pineapple

Intermezzo Course

Cucumber, Lime, Pineapple and Apple Granita

Dessert Course

Chinese Five Spice Fritter, Tamarind-Honey Ice Cream, Cilantro Whipped Cream and Sesame Paint

Almost Halfway Done - Week 5

Week 5 has come and gone but the memories of the delicious food stay with us. For this week's dinner service I brought in ideas from Alinea, Essence, and Plate Magazine.
The soup was a spin on the Essence soup that happens to be the cover of the book. The students prepared a Pea Tendril Herb Veloute with a Coconut Foam and Huckleberry Sauce. It was excellent!
The salad borrowed the idea of doing a Manchego Cheese Veil from the Alinea cookbook. The cheese was sliced thin, placed over the top of the salad ingredients, and then melted in the salamander as each order was called.
I'm really a fan of the magazine Plate and this week I had the students make Fermented Apple Cider Bread. They subbed cheddar cheese for a drunken goat cheese. The bread was brushed with an apple-hay infusion and topped with a compound butter.
Another fun highlight of the week was adding an intermezzo course to the menu. The course consisted of a Clementine Gelato and a Citrus Sorbet (Seville Orange, Meyer Lemon, and Grapefruit). It was a nice light precursor to the dessert course and tasted like the famed "Orange Julius!"

Amuse Bouche

Mushroom and Leek Croquette with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Bread Course

Apple Cider Bread with Goat Cheese

Soup Course

Pea Tendril Herb Veloute, Coconut Foam and Huckleberry Sauce

Salad Course

Fennel, Bacon, Arugula, Cauliflower, Pickled Grape with Manchego Cheese Veil

with Carrot-Apple Dressing

Pasta Course

Spatzle, Baked Acorn Squash, Deep-Fried Pork Belly, Haricot Vert, Peanut Foam,

 Seville Orange Marmalade

Entree Course

Italian Lemon-Anchovy Ribs with Pearl Barley Risotto, Rainbow Mix Microgreens

Intermezzo Course

Clementine Orange Gelato and Citrus Sorbet

Dessert Course

Lemon Olive Oil Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Molasses Ice Cream, Raspberry Gelee Terrine

with Blood Orange Curd and Chocolate-Ginger Soil

Take Home Treat

Amaretto Cookies with Citrus Zest Buttercream

Feeling the Flow of Our Restaurant~ Week 4

This week we took on the challenge of presenting Indian cuisine in a modern form. I recently found the most exciting and contemporary Indian cookbook, Rasoi which led to my inspiration for the week. Vineet Bhatia, the chef/author is an Indian chef with restaurants all over the globe. This cookbook is sheek, artistic and forward thinking. One of the simplist recipes, his fried rice dumplings with a gooey cheese center was the crowd pleaser this week. There was also some incredible creative thought with our center pieces in the dining room. Here are some shots from week four~

Dining Room Highlights

^Table centerpieces^

Amuse Bouche

Crispy Rice and Cheese Dumplings with Sweet Chile Mayonnaise

Bread Course

Wild Mushroom Naan with Squash Butter

 

Soup Course

Moroccan Carrot-Coconut Soup

Salad Course

Grilled Curry Shrimp over Pea Tendrils with Baba Ganoush

Pasta Course

Masala Dumplings with Potato Filling and Coconut Chutney

Entree Course

Indian Lamb Patty with Tumeric Rice, Tomato Chutney, and Yogurt Sauce

Dessert Course

 Gulab Jamun, Carrot Ginger Halwa, Toasted Jasmine Rice Ice Cream, and Mango Lassi Sauce

Week Three Begins.....

This week brought with it, finally, TWO full days of dinner service, January 25-26. This weeks menu gathered inspiration from a few different sources. The first new idea was a Red Wine Baguette inspired from Plate Online. A red wine reduction was swirled into the dough, creating red ribbons. In addition, walnuts were added to the bread. It was a cool new concept to expose to the students, one that was really enjoyed throughout the restaurant service.
The entree dish was inspired from the book "Essence" by Chef David Everitt-Matthias of Le Champignone Sauvage. The students studied the recipe and gave their interpretation of the dish. It was interesting to see the contrast between Chef David's original dish and the way the students put their spin on it.
Lastly, my creative students came up with the idea of doing an oatmeal ice cream. They toasted oats to a golden brown and steeped them in the ice cream base. The flavor was phenomenal. They strained out the oats and churned the base in an ice cream machine. It was amazing.

The menu this week consisted of:

Amuse Bouche

Swiss Chard with Garlic-Roasted Red Pepper and Pecorino Cheese

Bread Course

Red Wine Baguette with Olive Oil Butter

Salad Course

Butter Confit Chicken, Roasted Beets, Apples, Squash, Cippolini Onions and Pickled Grapes

Pasta Course

Fresh made Udon Noodles, Leek-Coconut Broth and Housemade Thai Meatballs

Entree Course

Seared Scallops, Cauliflower Puree, Brussel Sprouts and Caramel Foam

Dessert Course

Oatmeal Ice Cream, Pomegranate Granita, Almond Cake with Lemon Buttercream, Chocolate Beignet, Red-Shiso & Plum Wine Zabagilone with Honeycomb Candy

Take-Home Treat

Moroccan Truffles

Chocolate Ginger Wafer, Curry Truffle Creme, Almond Rose Creme, Mint Dust, Cardamom Almonds

Greasing the Wheels....Week Two Begins~

Week two of restaurant was another one night service since we had a Monday holiday. This is our second week of only one service night. Next week will be nice when we have two nights of dinner service and we can work out all the kinks from the first night.
One of the highlights from this week was the amuse. The amuse was inspired from a recipe found in Small Things Savory one of the best books for ideas on small one-bite dishes. We made "sheets" of shrimp from blending up raw shrimp, placing it in ziplock bags and then cooking it in the bag in a flat sheet. Once the sheets were cooled, we cut strips and made a new-age shrimp cocktail.

This is what it looked like:

The Bread Course this week was one of my favorites:

Gougeres with Onion Marmalade and Savory Cream

Salad Course

Salad of Salt Cooked Beets, Pickled Root Vegetables and Mesclun Greens

Soup Course

Cauliflower Soup with Cocoa Parmesan Crisp and Beet Sauce

Pasta Course

Squash Ravioli with Pomegranate and Zucchini Dust

Entree Course

Serrano Ham Tarts with Caramelized Onions, Havarti Cheese and Mesclun Salad

Dessert Course

Blood Orange Ice Cream Cylinder, Beet Granita, 30-Second Cake and Wassail

The Evening Service at The Savory Palate Begins!

January 10th kicks off the first week of the Savory Palate for evening service. I now have twice the amount of students compared to the last quarter. Having over twenty students is both exciting and challenging. We're going to use our numbers to create some of the most exciting food in Salt Lake City. Each evening we are offering an amuse, bread, soup, salad, pasta, entree and dessert. There is an immense amount of talent in this class and you can see this first-hand by the dishes they've executed week one~

Amuse Bouche

Celery Mousse, Baked Cheddar, Pepper Wafer and Bacon Balsamic

Bread Course

Mock "Grape" and Sundried Tomato Focaccia

(Students "dyed" pearled onions in a blackberry puree to look and taste like grapes)

Soup Course

Onion Soup with Pear Puree and Apple Dust

Salad Course

Grilled Romaine Caesar with Parmesan Froth and Garlic Tuile Soil

Pasta Course

Gnocchi with Pickled Dehydrated Mushrooms, Blue-Brie Sauce and Beet Paint

Entree Course

Creamy Polenta, Roasted Tomato Sauce with House-Made Italian Meatballs

Dessert Course

Savory Palate Tiramisu

Take Home Treat

Chocolate Meringue Cookie stuffed with Orange-Marsala Ganache

 

2011 Winter Menus For The Savory Palate Dinner Service 1/11 thur 3/23

Just wanted to let you know of an exciting new dining experience in Draper at the Art Institute. I'm the chef of a student-run restaurant open to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday nights from 6:30 till 8:00pm.  We would prefer reservations since we're so small, but please always feel free to drop in!  You will be spolied with a 6-Course Chef Menu that changes each week. The cost is only $17.95.  We are offering unique, modern worldly cuisine full of surprises and flavors that you've never experienced~
If you have any questions, please contact me: katiewcook@yahoo.com

Chef Katie Weinner
Art Institute of Salt Lake City, Draper
121 West Election Road. Suite 100. Draper, UT 84020

*Here are the weekly menus for the Savory Palate Restaurant.

(subject to change, slightly)

Service is from 6:30 to 8:00 pm-
for reservations please call: 801-601-9492

WEEK 2    January 19th

Bread:  Gougeres

Soup: Chestnut-Cauliflower

Salad: Coffee-Roasted Beet Salad

Pasta: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage and Maple

Entrée: Bacon and Bleu-Brie Prosciutto Tart

Dessert: Buttermilk, Blood Orange and Black Olive Caramel

WEEK 3    January 25^th and 26^th

Bread:  Red Wine Baguette

Soup:  Almond-Spice

Salad:  Winter Chicken Salad

Pasta:  Udon Noodles with Garlic-Pepper House Meatballs

Entrée: Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree and Caramel Froth

Dessert: Flavors and Textures of Herbs and Vanilla

WEEK 4    February 1^st and 2^nd

Bread: Mushroom Roti

Soup:  Moroccan Carrot

Salad:  Grilled Shrimp with Baba Ganoush

Pasta:  Crispy Rice and Masala Dumplings

Entrée: Indian-Spiced Meatloaf with Tomato Confit and Raita

Dessert:  Flavors and Textures of Kaffir Lime and Carrot

WEEK 5    February 8^th and 9th

Bread: Fermented Apple Cider

Soup:  Herb Veloute

Salad: Sunchoke, Bacon and Roasted Tomato with Arugula

Pasta:  Pumpkin Gnocchi with Crisp Pork Belly and Peanut Milk

Entrée: Italian Lemon-Anchovy Ribs with Butter Beans in Miso Bagna Cauda

Dessert:  Flavors and Textures of Citrus

WEEK 6    February 15^th and 16^th

Bread: Grissini

Soup: Coconut-Coriander

Salad: Orange , Fennel and Rosemary-Honey

Pasta:  Mint Papperdelle with Braised Lamb

Entrée: Thai Styled Halibut with Banana Curry

Dessert: Flavors and Textures of Sesame

WEEK 7    February 23^rd

Bread: Bacon Lavash

Soup:  Apple Juniper

Salad:  Pickled Squash, Radish and Goat Cheese

Pasta:  Airated Liquid Risotto 

Entrée: Grilled Skirt Steak with Winter-Berry Bread Pudding

Dessert:  Flavors and Textures of Chocolate and Squash

WEEK 8    March 1^st and 2^nd

Bread: Pretzel

Soup: Tomato with Olive Charcoal

Salad:  Root Vegetable and Pear

Pasta: Polenta Soufflés

Entrée: Duck Confit Tacos

Dessert: Flavors and Textures of Tea and Milk

WEEK 9    March 8^th and 9^th

Bread: Grilled Flatbread

Soup: Pear and Delicata Squash

Salad: Arugula, Pickled Fruit and Drunken Goat Cheese

Pasta: Toasted Rice Pasta

Entrée: Wild Rice Biscuits and Gravy with Chicken-Bacon Sausage

Dessert:  Flavors and Textures of S’mores

WEEK 10 March 15^th and 16^th

Bread:  Variety of Crackers

Soup: Fennel and Orange

Salad: Spring Harvest with Feta

Pasta: Chive Fettuccine with Lemon

Entrée: Pulled Pork Sliders

Dessert: Build Your Own Sundae with What We Give You!