Jazzfood's Garlic Dinner 8/28 (now w/correct date)

As some of you may know, I've recently been amping up my garlic presence. In my past I competed (and won 3 times) the Delray Beach Garlic Festival's Professional Chefs Competition. I've also embarked on trying to publish a manuscript, The Garlic Manifesto- the history of garlic beginning 10,000 years ago in Neolithic caves, making its way to the Pyramids, proceeding through Roman and Mongol invasions, past vampires, onto battlefields and up to the present day. Similar to single topic books like "Cod" or "Salt" but a bit more personal. I'll post more about that where it belongs, in the professional forum.

In the meantime, I'm doing a series of garlic themed mkt driven dinners, the first of which will be @ Filo restaurant @ 959 N. Western on Weds 8/28. Some of my garlic winning dishes will be on the menu, as will whatever else looks good to me earlier in the day from the Green City Farmers Mkt. It is Jazzfood after all- solid technique coupled w/improvisation. Pretty much everything will have garlic involved.

If this is of interest to you, please join me by clicking on this link. http://garlicchef-es2.eventbrite.com/?rank=1

Many thanks,

Alan

Sounds great. Link says 8/28 - are there two?

I can't believe how lame I am. No, it's 8/28. I initially wrote 5/28 and then edited to another wrong date. Weds August 28 is the date. Sorry for the confusion.

Tickets purchased! Looking forward to it!

My friends make me know how rich a man I am.

Just purchased 2 tickets. The wife and I are in!

=R=

So bummed I can't make it--already have an event that evening. I really hope to make the next one though!!!

I got my tix.

Shaping up to be quite respectable. Thank you all for your interest and support.

I can't wait!

Would absolutely be there if I didn't already have an event that evening that I must attend . . .sounds pretty awesome.

We'll be bringing wine, are folks interested in sharing/trading glasses? I expect we'll want different wines with different dishes, yes? (do we need to bring glassware?)

I will post the final menu after the mkt Weds AM so you may pair your beverages accordingly.

Jazzfood’s Garlic Excess 8.28.13


Grilled Peach, Champagne Grapes, Parma Prosciutto, Garlic Scape, Boursin Cheese

Roasted Elephant Garlic-Cambozola Cheese Bruschetta- Caramelized Balsamic Onion-Raisin-Pine Nut Relish

Cavollo Nero, Rainbow Chard, Arugula,Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Grilled Mirai Sweet Corn, Pomegranate, Smoked Almonds, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Browned Garlic Vinaigrette

Monkfish Scampi, Spinach, Asiago, Fresh Hen Egg, Roasted Vegetable Barleysotto

Grilled Lamb Loin Chop, Aubergine Mousse, Mitake Mushroom, Basil-Orange Pesto

Bittersweet Chocolate Genoise with Fermented Black Garlic, Dark Cherry-Raspberry-Sorghum Coulis
Hazelnut Whipped Cream

Jazzfood wrote:Grilled Peach, Champagne Grapes, Parma Prosciutto, Garlic Scape, Boursin Cheese

What, no frog?

That was one terrific dinner last night. Alan really threw down. I was truly impressed by the multitudinous, thoughtful uses of garlic throughout the entire meal. But even more impressive was how the garlic was showcased in ways that allowed it to come through clearly in each of the courses without overwhelming the other ingredients. It was strong when it needed to be and subtle when that made sense. The meal was a well-conceived symphony of flavors, textures and aromas . . .



Menu - 13.0828



Grilled Peach | champagne grapes, Parma proscuitto, garlic scape, boursin cheese



Bruschetta | roasted elephant garlic-Cambozola cheese, caramelized balsamic onion-raisin-pine nut relish[/b]



Alan preps the salad course: Cavollo Nero, rainbow chard, arugula, shaved brussels sprouts, grilled Mirai sweet corn, pomegranate, smoked almonds, Parmigiano Reggiano, browned garlic vinaigrette



The Room



Working with fire, Alan preps the upcoming course



Monkfish Scampi | spinach, asiago, fresh hen egg, roasted vegetable barleysotto



Grilled Lamb Loin Chop | aubergine mousse, mitake mushroom, basil-orange pesto



Grilled Lamb Loin Chop | aubergine mousse, mitake mushroom, basil-orange pesto



Bittersweet Chocolate Genois | fermented black garlic, dark cherry-raspberry-sorghum coulis, hazelnut whipped cream

Through this entire meal, it was easy to see why Alan has been so lauded for his garlic cookery. He definitely has an affinity for it and the courses he threw down last night reflected it -- and his overall culinary expertise -- very clearly. There wasn't a course in that meal I wouldn't happily order again. I just loved how in each course he used the garlic in very different forms, which resulted in a meal that was a pleasure, and full of surprises.

=R=

I particularly noticed that the food was well balanced. It wasn't a gimmicky "all the garlic we can cram into this" meal.

We had a wonderful time, thanks to the food, our table companions, and of course the hospitality and service.

leek wrote:I particularly noticed that the food was well balanced. It wasn't a gimmicky "all the garlic we can cram into this" meal.

We had a wonderful time, thanks to the food, our table companions, and of course the hospitality and service.

Agreed. There wasn't one dish that featured garlic for garlic's sake. Everything was wonderfully balanced and the dinner was constructed so that no two dishes used garlic in the same way. Garlic was showcased in all of its forms, but we weren't beat over the head with it. Bravo, Jazzfood!

I'm touched by the kind words. Thank you all. What an added pleasure for me to look out @ a room full of friends.

When I inadvertently became the "Garlic Chef", prior to that I was just a chef intent on balancing flavor profiles w/textures and colors to try to extract that illusive wow in your mouth we all covet. That's the challenge most chefs undertake and in all truth, fun for me even more so as it reminds me of my music. One reason I shopped in the AM @ Green City Farmer's Mkt was to have the market delegate some of the components of the dishes.

Jazzfood = solid technique coupled w/tasteful improvisation.

I wanted to showcase the versatility of the ingredient, so we had it in many different guises- scapes, elephant, blk fermented, roasted, pureed, crunchy, raw... the key to it all was that it made sense on the palate and was not gratuitous, again as a chef of 30 yrs, balance and flavor are my primary concern.

A dinner I'm very sorry I missed . . . really looks like a great Iron Chef competition, highlighting garlic's versatility. I hope you schedule some more.

Would like to schedule another dinner, but my friend @ Filo is in the process of selling it. If anyone knows of another venue I could use, I'd be glad to consider it.