13 minute read
Food + Beverage
HOLIDAYS SPLARKLE AGAIN
For the first time since the pandemic first hit, clubs across America are planning a full complement of holiday celebrations and events, many of which revolve around feasts of classic, ethnic and innovative foods of the season.
By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Contributi ng Editor
THEMED BANQUETS, BUFFETS, BRUNCHES, TEAS, even barbecues rank high among the spirited celebrati ons members are eagerly anti cipati ng this season at their clubs.
“With the relaxati on of pandemic restricti ons, we’re now back at full thrott le, planning all kinds of events throughout the month,” says Samuel Brod, Senior Executi ve Chef at The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga. “We had been doing mostly individual porti ons and takeout, but now buff ets are coming back full bore.” Throughout December, Brod and company prepare lavish themed repasts highlighti ng beloved traditi onal foods of the season from two brunches with Santa, each of which usually hosts 500 att endees; an elegant tea party; a golf course barbecue and laser show that att racts more than 1,000 guests, to two wine pairing dinners. The season culminates in a grand New Year’s Eve Myriad Ball which off ers the 1,500-to-2,000 guests 10-to-12 “unique experiences” showcasing a bounty of fancy fare that overfl ows the club’s fi ve dining rooms into a tented area. One of the two wine pairing meals at the club and one of its most beloved traditi ons is the Holiday Ornament Dinner in mid-December. It begins with a recepti on serving butler-passed hors d’oeuvres and, this year, will conti nue with olive oil-poached Alaskan halibut, cream of mushroom soup en croute and a classical veal Oscar. Dessert will be a mini holiday “ornament” torte and each guest will be gift ed with a keepsake ornament to take home.
Recipe
HOLIDAY DUCK
Crispy Duck Confit with Foie Gras, Butternut Squash Risotto, Cranberry Gastrique and Brussels Sprouts
YIELD: 4 SERVINGS
INGREDIENTS FOR CRISPY DUCK CONFIT: 4 duck legs 1 cup kosher salt zest of two oranges 1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme 1 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon 1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage 1 tbsp. crushed peppercorns
INGREDIENTS FOR CONFIT RECIPE: 1 qt. duck fat (if not available use olive oil) 6 bay leaves 1 small bundle of fresh thyme, sage and tarragon 1 whole garlic bulb cut in half peel of one orange
PROCEDURE FOR CRISPY DUCK CONFIT: 1. Place duck in a deep cooking dish. Completely coat with mixture and refrigerate for 4 hours. After 4 hours, remove from fridge, rinse thoroughly and pat dry. 2. Place duck back into a deep cooking dish.
Cover with confit ingredients. Wrap tightly with foil and place in a 275-degree oven for approximately 6 hours. Duck should be just to the point of falling off the bone without falling apart. Check with tongs or a fork. 3. Once desired doneness is reached, remove from oven and allow to cool in the oil. 4. Once the duck is cool enough to handle, in a separate sauté pan place a ¼ cup of the confit oil and sear the duck until crispy on both side. Note: Strain remaining oil and freeze. It can be use again for another batch.
INGREDIENTS FOR BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO: 2 cups arborio rice 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup white wine 7 cups chicken or vegetable stock 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 tbsps. butter 1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese 1 cup butternut squash puree (recipe follows) salt and pepper to taste PROCEDURE FOR BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO: 1. Place olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add rice and onions, toast for a couple minutes until it appears translucent. 2. Add white wine and cook until dry, slowly add a cup at a time of stock, while stirring constantly. Wait until each cup of stock is absorbed before adding the next cup. This is a slow and low process. Be patient. 3. Once the rice is cooked and feels al dente. remove from the heat and add all remaining ingredients. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
INGREDIENTS FOR BUTTERNUT SQUASH PUREE 1 small butternut squash, roasted 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and seeded 1 tsp. orange zest 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground ginger pinch nutmeg salt and pepper to taste
PROCEDURE FOR BUTTERNUT SQUASH PUREE: 1. Cut squash in half, remove seeds and place on a sheet pan. Brush with vegetable oil and season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. 2. Roast for about an hour at 350 degrees or until soft. A fork should easily pierce the squash. Scoop out the squash from the skin with a spoon and place in a blender or food processor. Add orange zest and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Note: If using a blender, a bit of milk or cream can be used to help blend
INGREDIENTS FOR CRANBERRY GASTRIQUE: 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup cranberry juice 1 cinnamon stick
PROCEDURE FOR CRANBERRY GASTRIQUE: Combine all in a small saucepan and slowly reduce to a thin syrup consistency. INGREDIENTS FOR BACON BRUSSELS SPROUTS: 2 cups fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half 3 slices of bacon, cut into lardons 1 tsp. cider vinegar 1 tsp. honey salt and pepper to taste
PROCEDURE FOR BACON BRUSSELS SPROUTS : 1. Place medium-size sauté pan over medium heat. Add bacon and slowly cook until crispy. Remove bacon from pan leaving in the bacon fat. 2. Add Brussels sprouts to the pan and toss in the bacon fat, salt and pepper. Flip over each Brussels sprout to be face down in the pan. 3. Place the pan in a 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until Brussels are al dente. Remove from oven and drizzle with cider vinegar & honey.
INGREDIENTS FOR SEARED FOIE GRAS: 1 1.5-oz. slice grade A foie gras
PROCEDURE FOR SEARED FOIE GRAS: 1. Score the foie gras with diamond pattern hash marks. 2. Sear over medium-high heat for approximately 15-20 seconds per side. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel.
SUBMITTED BY BRIAN DENNIS, EXECUTIVE CHEF, COUNTRY CLUB OF LANDFALL, WILMINGTON, N.C.
Surprisingly, fi nding staff to work the club’s Christmas Day buff et and dinner extravaganzas is no problem for Brod.
“We use volunteers whom we incenti vize with double pay plus a bonus based off sales from the day,” he explains. “We bring in eight to 10 employees in the kitchen plus about 10 to 12 servers.”
For Christmas Eve, Brod off ers an extensive to-go menu. He usually sells between 60 to 70 meals.
Brod pointed out that it takes the club at least six months to plan the New Year’s Eve Myriad Ball. In additi on to three lavish “cruise ship-style buff ets,” the event leads guests from one “experience” to another in various dining rooms and tented areas. One experience, for example, might be champagne on ice with caviar, another might be a carnival tableau or Bavarian biergarten. In sti ll another room there might be a display of cheese and a mind reader for entertainment.
Although New Year’s Eve is usually a ti me for gatherings of friends and family, Brod acknowledges that, for some singles and widowed members, theirs is a party of one. To brighten their holiday, he puts together a celebratory to-go meal.
Two clubhouses with a total of fi ve kitchens allow Brian Dennis, Executi ve Chef at Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C., to host four or fi ve private parti es ranging from 150 to 450 guests at the same ti me. Staffi ng is not an issue because cooks from the pool and sports center can be added to the event staff count when those two venues are closed.
“We get crushed with holiday parti es the fi rst weeks in December, but that lightens up as Christmas comes closer,” Dennis says.
Although the club is closed on Christmas, Dennis will be off ering takeout holiday dinners with heati ng instructi ons for pick-up the Friday prior to the big day.
“The fi rst ti me we did Christmas takeout was during COVID and it was very popular,” he notes. “That’s why we decided to bring it back this year.”
Country Club of Landfall’s members tend to favor comfort
DURABLE.ELEGANT.STACKING.
Recipe
CHEESE SOUFFLE
YIELD: 12 SERVINGS
INGREDIENTS: 1 qt. whole milk 1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere cheese 18 egg whites 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup clarified butter salt and pepper to taste your favorite Hollandaise sauce
PROCEDURE: 1. Lightly butter and flour 12 ceramic souffle dishes. 2. Make a bechamel: Warm butter in heavy bottom pan. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly until it bubbles but does not turn brown (about 2 minutes). 3. Add milk and continue to stir as sauce thickens. 4. Bring to a boil, then take off the heat and add 1 cup of gruyere.
Save the rest for topping. 5. Next, whip egg whites until soft peaks form (do not over whip).
Then, slowly fold whipped egg whites into the bechamel. 6. Ladle into souffle cups and gently top with remaining shredded cheese. 7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, being careful not to open and close the oven or otherwise disturb the souffle. 8. Serve directly from the oven with your favorite Hollandaise sauce.
Ladle into souffle cups and gently top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, being careful not to open and close the oven or
SUBMITTED BY MARK BEGGS, EXECUTIVE CHEF, AND PAUL KOCHANOWSKI, EXECUTIVE SOUS CHEF, CINCINNATI COUNTRY CLUB, CINCINNATI, OHIO
classics such as autumn butt ernut squash and apple soup, ham, turkey, herbroasted leg of lamb and prime rib by the pound with sides of stuffi ngs, garlic mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, corn bread, creamed corn, mac and cheese, glazed root vegetables and bacon and apple cider-glazed Brussels sprouts. Pecan pie and holiday cookies are the preferred desserts.
For the club’s New Year’s Eve cocktail party that is popular with younger members, he makes sure that all the passed hors d’oeuvres are “high end” and “crowd pleasers” such as latkes with smoked salmon spread and caviar, lobster tempura lollipops, octopus ceviche cups and a nod to his vegetarian and vegan members with plant-based meatballs.
In additi on to two carving stati ons, one for New Zealand lamb racks and the other for beef tenderloin, two grand displays will off er bounti es of charcuterie and seafood. Among the seafood selecti ons will be crab shooters and tuna three ways—seared ginger, peppered and blackened.
A chef-att ended risott o bar will allow guests to customize with bacon, peas, crab, caramelized onions, wild mushrooms, shrimp, mascarpone and parmesan cheeses, truffl e oil and sun-dried tomatoes. He expects between 400 to 500 members to att end.
A three-course, prix fi xe, reservati on-only New Year’s Eve meal in the formal dining room will start with a fi rst course of arugula and grape-stuff ed goat cheese with pistachio crust, seared foie gras or lobster bisque. Entrée selecti ons will be fi let mignon, lobster tail or duck a l’orange. Dessert will be a shared plate of peti te desserts. In this more inti mate setti ng, the chef can accommodate up to 150 diners.
Mark Beggs, Executi ve Chef at the Cincinnati Country Club in Cincinnati , Ohio, and Paul Kochanowski, the club’s Executi ve Sous Chef, know their
TAPPING MEMBERS’ ROOTS
At The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga., Executive Chef Samuel Brod brings together a range of holiday traditions to represent the various cultures of its members. For Hanukkah, he prepares a to-go meal that feeds two or four featuring such Jewish specialties as matzah ball soup, potato latkes, beef brisket, Zaatar spiced roast leg of lamb, potato kugel and jelly doughnuts.
On Christmas Eve, the club goes Italian with Brod’s own distinctive take on the Feast of the Seven Fishes. The seafood-centric feast begins with an Insalata di Mare with octopus, shrimp, clams, mussels and lobster, then moves on to the club’s fresh spin on Oysters Rockefeller made with caramelized collards, cream cheese, red pepper, pork belly and Asiago cheese. A chef-attended risotto bar presents seafood-centric toppings such as smoked salmon, blue crab meat and grouper bites as well as a choice of rices and sauces.
members’ food preferences well. And, for the December holidays, that means putti ng their own upscale twists on comfort foods.
For last year’s ladies’ group holiday luncheon, for example, they created an elegant chicken in puff pastry enveloping a breast, mushrooms, beurre blanc, slow-roasted tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and pesto. The edges of the pastry were braided for extra panache.
A long-ti me favorite holiday luncheon selecti on at the club is a signature cheese souffl e made with classic Gruyere and served with a Hollandaise sauce.
“The maximum number of souffl es we can do at one ti me is 30 due to oven space, so they’re best for smaller parti es,” Kochanowski notes.
For seated dinners, members oft en request colorful Mediterranean-style salmon on a bed of grains and vegetables.
“It’s a beauti ful plate,” he says.
Among the most club’s most popular requested desserts at dinner parti es is chocolate croissant bread pudding made with Triple Sec or Grand Marnier or chocolate or traditi onal pots de crème. An easy holiday showstopper is a mini sundae made with peppermint Graeter’s Ice Cream, a hometown hero brand.
This year, Dinner with Santa has been switched to Brunch with Santa. Aside from Saint Nick himself, a star att racti on will be Beggs’ special pancakes which he makes extra light and fl uff y by adding whipped egg whites. He expects to serve more than 400 members and their children at this event. Although a majority of members prefer to have their Christmas Eve buff et dinner at the club (Beggs expects about 500 members to att end), he always makes accommodati ons for those who cannot get there for this gala event with a special takeout menu composed of about 80% of the selecti ons available on the buff et. He assigns one or two staff ers to take care of these orders which are set to be picked up between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. to assure that all hands will be on deck for the main event in the dining room.
Details are important to Beggs, right down to the carryout containers.
“We send the food home in att racti ve cardboard boxes and reusable logo bags,” he explains.
All indicators are that prior to Christmas, the Cincinnati Country Club will be keeping its three kitchens humming, executi ng family and business parti es ranging from 35 to 300 guests, as well as its own events accommodati ng upwards of 500, he says. Aft er, a New Year’s Eve wedding is on the schedule. C+RB
SUMMING IT UP
> Big holiday celebrati ons are coming back this year. > Innovati ve events make the season extra festi ve. > Prett y takeout packaging is like a holiday present.
Executi ve Chef Mark Beggs, left , and Executi ve Sous Chef Paul Kochanowski, right, put their own upscale twists on comfort foods for members of Cincinnati Country Club throughout the holiday season.
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