20 April 2014 – Easter Sunday

It was a beautiful Easter Sunday in North Georgia. After a rainy start to the weekend, the skies cleared for today's festivities. We ventured to Atlanta yesterday for an overnighter in the city. Last night, we had a wonderful dinner at one of my favorite old haunts, Floataway Cafe. I've had many meals there over the years, but it has been a while since I've been there. It brought back a lot of memories. I had a simple English Pea and Ricotta Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce, and Jeff had the Hanger Steak with Pomme Frites. The French fries are still as divine as I remember, and I look forward to getting Anne Quatrano's new cookbook from her Summerland Farms in Cartersville.

This morning, we had Easter brunch at Watershed. The new location is lovely, and they were packed today. After a nice outdoor meal, we stopped at Harry's Farmers Market to get supplies for tonight's Sunday Supper. I have been craving some fresh, seasonal halibut, and they delivered. While I found most of what I needed, I had to call Lisa Meyer at Cherokee Market on our way home to reserve some fresh English Peas. Luckily, they were open this afternoon. I pureed the peas with mint and lemon zest and sauteed the halibut in clarified butter. I topped the dish off with a fresh salad of pea shoots, grape tomatoes, lemon zest, and fiddle head ferns. It was a delicious and healthy combination. Of course, it wouldn't be Easter without deviled eggs, so I made a batch from Virginia Willis's cookbook, "Bon Appetit Y'all." They were really simple and good. For dessert, I served strawberry and basil sorbet topped with Georgia strawberries and aged balsamic vinegar. It was a perfect finish to a light and tasty dinner.

After dinner, we did some planning for our upcoming trip next week to New York City. I have to be there on Friday for the AIGA's Centennial Gala where we are honoring our newest Gold medals for lifetime achievement in design. I am thrilled that several of my friends are receiving the AIGA medal, especially my best girlfriend, Ann Willoughby, from Kansas City! Annie is a wonderful designer and amazing soul, and I couldn't be happier for her. In addition to the Gala, I look forward to a small reception for her on Saturday afternoon at Tavern on the Green. It will be hosted by another dear friend, Leslie Westbrook, and one of my idols and Annie's mentor, the legendary Milton Glaser, will be there. He is the reason I got into the design business, and it is always an honor and pleasure to spend time with him.

And when it comes to mixing business with pleasure, it will be Jeff Brown's first trip to the Big Apple! I am excited to show him some of my favorite spots in the city that doesn't sleep. I'm sure we won't do much of that either.

Here's to new beginnings and new experiences.

The Menu:

- Line Caught Halibut with Minted English Pea Puree

- Simple Deviled Eggs

- Strawberry and Basil Sorbet with Balsamic Georgia Strawberries


The Recipe – Halibut with Minted Pea Puree

Ingredients:

Halibut Filets

Clarified Butter

Salt and Pepper

Prepare the pea puree first. Then heat the clarified butter over medium heat until just beginning to smoke. Salt and pepper both sides of halibut filets and add flesh side down. Leave in place for three minutes, then flip carefully with a fish spatula. Saute the other side for another three minutes. Remove from pan, and serve immediately over pea puree.

Pea Puree:

2 cups fresh English peas

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon graded lemon zest

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or more if desired)

1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth

To make the purée, combine the peas, mint, garlic, salt & pepper and lemon zest in a blender or food processor. While the machine is running stream in the olive oil and broth in a steady drizzle. Once you have achieved the desired consistency place the puree in a saucepan and warm up over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Spoon the puree into a shallow bowl, and place Halibut filet on top. Garnish as desired.

06 April 2014

Spring is shaping up to be very busy on all fronts. The work continues to flow into Grant Design Collaborative, and my team, as usual, is doing a great job. City Council continues to keep me busy as well, so it's been challenging to keep up with my Sunday Supper blog. After missing a few weeks, I was determined to cook dinner tonight.

The weekend began with a very fun Latin-themed First Friday in Historic Downtown Canton. The Main Street Board did a fantastic job under the leadership of our dedicated director, Meghan Griffin, and Jennifer Dunn stepped up to help make the celebration possible. There was a great band, and we even had salsa dance lessons for the crowd to enjoy. We stuffed ourselves with great food from Angelfire7 BBQ, Scott Boys BBQ and even Cajun boiled peanuts from Cherokee Market. A good time was had by all, and we enjoyed spending time with our friends from across the city. A special thanks goes to our Main Street "Machine" for their hard work and passion for moving Canton forward.

The fun continued on Saturday. It was a beautiful Spring day, so we rode up to Georgia Wine Country to visit a few vineyards with Cory Wilson and John Clark. We enjoyed a tasting at Three Sisters Vineyard and shared a nice bottle of Touché at Frogtown Cellars. Our last stop was at Cavendar Creek to visit our great friend, Chauna Whitlow. On our way back to Canton, we stopped at The Blue Bicycle in Dawsonville for a great lunch. If you are ever shopping at the outlet malls there, don't miss this great little cafe, and don't forget to order the pommes frites. They are divine!

On Saturday night, we visited our friends Jessica and Jeremy Sexton and their gorgeous new home on Jarvis Street. They used to be our neighbors out front, so it is great to have them back in the neighborhood. In just a month, they've done some amazing home improvement projects, and we can't wait to watch their progress. It is so nice to see a young family investing in downtown Canton's charming homes. After a drink at their home, we progressed to One Britt for dinner. On our way back from Dahlonega, we stopped by Ferguson's Meat Market for some grass fed filets, twice stuffed potatoes and organic salad ingredients. We enjoyed a relaxing and casual meal with the Sexton's followed by drinks and story telling on the Side Porch. It was a very fun evening.

Sunday began with breakfast at Keithsburg Cafe, and the afternoon was spent gathering ingredients for tonight's Sunday Supper. We visited Cherokee Market for some beautifully fresh produce, including English peas. Since tonight's menu involved a Mexican theme, we had to stop by Ramirez Grocery on Marietta Highway for a few wonderful treats. I love this store! We returned home to prepare a mixed vegetable salad with lime dressing, homemade guacamole and the entree, Cazuela of Roasted Farmers Market Vegetables, Chicken and Tomatillo. It was a perfect meal for a rainy Sunday night.

The upcoming week will be just as busy, but I look forward to more productive collaboration with my colleagues, friends and neighbors.

The Menu:

- Cazuela of Roasted Farmers Market Vegetables,
Chicken and Tomatillo

- Mixed Cherokee Market Vegetable Salad with Lime Dressing

- Homemade Guacamole with Chips and Salsa


The Recipe – Mixed Vegetable Salad with Lime Dressing


INGREDIENTS:

Around 2 cups of any/all of the following:

Carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally 1/8 inch thick
Small red potatoes sliced 1/8 inch thick
Green beans, ends snipped and cut in half
Fresh English Peas
Radishes, stem-and root-ends removed, slices paper-thin
Cucumbers, peeled, seeded and sliced 1/8 inch thick
Tomatoes, cored and sliced 1/8 inch thick

DRESSING:

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil, preferably part olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley (optional)

GARNISHES:

6 leaves romaine or leaf lettuce
1 thick slice of red onion, broken into rings
2 tablespoonscrumbled Mexican queso fresco

PROCESS:

In a large saucepan, set up a vegetable steamer over an inch of water and set over medium-high heat. When the water begins to boil, place the prepared carrots and potatoes in separate shallow piles on the steamer rack. Steam, tightly covered, until the vegetables are tender but still retain a little firmness, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool the vegetables in separate groupings on a large tray. Next, steam the green beans and/or fresh peas, tightly covered: 5 to 8 minutes for beans, anywhere from 4 to 20 minutes for the peas (depending on the size and freshness). When the green vegetables are done, remove them and cool with the other vegetables. In a large bowl, mix together the radishes, cucumbers and/or tomatoes with the well-drained, cooked vegetables.

A few minutes before serving, measure the lime juice, oil, salt, pepper and optional fresh coriander or parsley into a small bowl or a jar with tight-fitting lid; whisk or shake until thoroughly blended. Pour onto the vegetables and mix well.

Line a large serving platter with lettuce leaves. Once again, toss the vegetable mixture with the dressing, then scoop it onto the platter. Top with rings of red onion and a sprinkling of the optional fresh cheese.