Starting January the Right Way with Dutch and Company

On the first day it snowed in 2013 we thanked the goddesses that the month before we experienced balmy spring-like weather and that the roads were clear. Hubby and I had discussed when we could try Dutch and Company. All of RVA had been waiting for it to open. We knew the place would be rocking. On the first day it snowed in 2013 we arrived at 5:15 PM.

Dutch and Company in Church Hill

A couple of tables were already settled in. The decor featured cozy lighting with a number of mirrors along the wall to project warmth. I liked the little "Dutch" touches: a bouquet of tulips in a colorful pitcher, reproductions of stamps from the Netherlands to mark the bathroom entrances, and vintage prints of Holland scenes.

The mirrors are a nice touch

The Gents

A few folks were at the bar. We wanted to sit at the bar and converse and observe/admire Michelle, our all-time favorite bartender. She's thoughtful, quiet, and meticulous; and Michelle can make a myriad of awesome libations. We ended up with a Sunday Paper and Honest to Goodness.

Sunday Paper:  Chartreuse rinse,  Wild Turkey Rye, Hennesey VS Cognac, gomme syrup (simple syrup made from gum arabic),  Fee Brothers old fashioned bitters, lemon twist

Honest to Goodness: Hendricks Gin, cucumber ginger ice cubes, Angostura bitters, tonic water 

As we enjoyed our cocktails and perused the menu, Michelle pointed out the "Jib" board - a blackboard containing the evenings snacks at $5 each. These snacks can change daily. Our board boasted the likes of smoked salmon rillette, chicken liver terrine, and Anderson Neck oysters. The menu features seasonal items and can change frequently. Of course, everything should be delicious since Caleb is in the kitchen. While we are not familiar with Phillip, I'm sure he is top-notch, as well and we probably enjoyed many of his dishes at his former place of employment (Acacia). We discovered the prix-fixe for $28: choose any appetizer, any entree, and any dessert. The prix-fixe is available every evening, all evening. A wonderful value and we took advantage of it.

The wine list is small, but offers a variety with some off-beat selections as well. We chose a Chatter Creek Nebbiolo from Washington State. An unusual grape variety for the region, but smooth and satisfying. The other great thing about the wine was the service. While most restaurants in RVA do not replenish the wine as the evening goes on, Dutch and Company did. I highly value the service (which should be an expectation, not an anomaly). While wine by the bottle may not be the usual order for most tables, if Richmond really wants to be on the national food map, service needs to be stepped up a notch. Kudos to Dutch and Company for its attention to detail.

Chatter Creek Nebbiolo with a glass cap

For dinner we started with the Pork and Squash Rillette and the Malted Barley Porridge.

A divine start to the evening: Pork and Winter Squash Rillette with Honey Roasted Pecans, Pickled Squash, and Pig Skin Cornbread. While pork rillette tends to be extremely rich, the squash toned down the richness while adding to the flavor. 

Malted Barley Porridge with Smoked Maitake Mushrooms, Roasted Pear,  Kale, and Almond Cream.  Probably the only porridge dish in RVA. Lots of textures and flavors that evoke a cozy winter evening.

For the entree we both delighted in the Hangar Steak.

Hangar Steak (medium rare) with Bone Marrow Twice-Baked Potato, Bitter Greens, and Herb Sauce. A wonderful dish. The marrow added an enormous amount of richness to the potato. The Herb Sauce was fresh and packed with garlic.

For dessert hubby opted for the Winter's Honey Pot and I enjoyed the Stroopwafel.

Winter's Honey Pot: Warm Milk and Honey, Pound Cake, Lavender Ice Cream, Citrus, and Candied Nuts. Dutch and Company secured a number of vintage honey pots for presentation. We lucked out with our Winnie the Pooh pot. A creative and delicious concoction.

Stroopwafel with Caramel and Vanilla Ice Cream. Stroopwafel is a Dutch treat.. Two wafer-like cookies with caremel sandwiched in between. A simple, yet satisfying dessert.

We ended with coffee for hubby and Strega for me. It would be difficult not to indulge in one of the numerous Amari that Dutch and Company offers. As I began to sip my digestif we noticed that the dining room was packed and folks were standing at the bar with drinks, waiting for a table. Earlier in the evening Michelle had pointed out the "Champagne Room." A cozy little spot with end table, lamp, a couple of chairs. This spot is the "lounge" outside of the bathrooms. With all of the new patrons coming in, we moved our after dinner beverages to this quiet area to relax and watch diners enjoying their evening.

Coffee at the bar

As we left we walked by the big storefront window featuring the kitchen to appreciate the art and craftsmanship of providing delicious food. The only thing that could be improved upon is if there were a huge picture window between the dining room and the kitchen for diners to admire the workings of the kitchen. Of course, then we would be torn as to where to sit. At the bar to watch cocktails being crafted or at a table to see meals being prepared.

Kitchen scene

Chef Caleb

We had a lovely experience. I wish Dutch and Company much success. I look forward to enjoying more great food and beverages in the very near future.

Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Duck at Heritage

Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Duck a photo by pjpink on Flickr.

Lots have been written about Heritage with all kinds of deserving praise. Dana Craig at RTD awarded the place a very rare 4 stars.

I want to focus on one dish that wowed me: Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Duck Confit, Pear, Scallion, and Pumpkin Seed Oil. A most awesome fall-into-winter dish. A bit spicy, a slight sweetness, and a whole heap of flavor. While the soup is a small portion, the complex flavors completely satisfy.

Heritage has other dishes that are lovely, too, along with an enticing cocktail list; but this soup is the dish for me.

Magpie Pictorial

Last week we had dinner at the Magpie. This lovely spot in Carver continues to produce tasty morsels. We particularly like the small plates.

In Fashion Cocktail - an updated Old Fashioned

Wild Boar Hushpuppies with Rosemary Oil, Honey, and Pomegranate

Butternut Squash Gnocchi - tossed with cinnamon and served with a slightly sweet sauce - almost dessert!

A cozy, delicious evening

Even Better Thanksgiving Dressing

Even Better Thanksgiving Dressing

Last year I made some fantastic dressing for Thanksgiving. Everyone declared my success and sang out fanfares from the rooftops.

So, what is a creative cook to do when she has already been declared Queen of the Thanksgiving Dressing? I decided not to repeat the past, but to blaze a different path. Actually, I tweaked the old recipe, but the new concoction garnered such raves that I can only call this...

Even Better Thanksgiving Dressing

1 butternut squash, chopped into large chunks
1 sweet onion, chopped into large chunks
1 pound Mayo’s sausage from Lenoir City TN (this is a smoked ham-like sausage that I’ve only found in TN)
1 round loaf of Hawaiian Sweet Bread, torn into pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup chicken broth (approximately)
Olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place butternut squash and onion in an oven proof dish. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper and toss. Roast the butternut squash and onion for 40-50 minutes until tender and beginning to brown. Remove from oven, transfer to a bowl and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. While the roasted vegetables are cooling fry the sausage and cook until done, breaking up the sausage into tiny chunks as it cooks (if the sausage is uncooperative, cook, cool, and then break into tiny chunks). When the sausage is just done, place the mixture in a bowl and set aside to cool. In a bowl large enough to accommodate all of the ingredients, add the torn bread pieces, sausage, and cranberries. Dice up the roasted vegetables into smaller chunks and add to mixture. Pour in about half of the broth and begin mixing the ingredients with your hands. Add the rest of the broth as needed until all of the bread is moist and everything begins sticking together. Do not over saturate mixture. Place the dressing into a 9” x 13” glass or ceramic baker. Bake for about 30 – 45 minutes. Serve hot.

I truly believe the sausage is the key to this dressing, but the roasted butternut squash added another dimension to this holiday staple.

Mezzanine Musings

We dined at Mezzanine last night. We discovered a plethora of pleasantness about the place and a few awkward areas.

First, the weird things. Because it was a Friday night and this place has received lots of raves, it was packed. The inside was very loud, so we chose to dine on the plastic encased patio, which was much more peaceful. Not a problem, the night was warm. But the placement and sizing of the patio tables and benches left no room for either the diners or the wait staff to maneuver. The menu was of the chalkboard variety and was presented table by table. But the wait staff had trouble figuring out where to place the boards. And the patio menus did not have prices. We had to go inside to look at the giant board to figure out how much anything cost.

We got past this and ordered wine. Our first choice of a Le Volte Super Tuscan turned out to not be available. But our very pleassant waitress apologized and also let us know that all of the other reds on the list were available. Very seldom have I experienced a wait person go to the trouble of seeing what else might be missing from a wine list. Kudos to her! So, we decided to order something we had not seen before - 2005 Lapis Luna Romanza Zinfandel from Lodi, California ($33). Very nice choice (87% Zin and 13% Sangiovese) - silky with vanilla and cherry overtones. A versatile wine that paired well with our varied meal.

Mezzanine's menu featured appetizers, salads, small plates, and entrees. Our dinner consisted of a cup of Butternut Squash Soup topped with crab ($6) and an extraodinary Thai Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, duck confit, and shaved root vegetable slivers in a hot vinegary dressing ($9) to peak our tastebuds. Both were excellent. We followed with Roasted Chicken stuffed with goat cheese and served with green beans and celery root puree ($20) and Duck Confit with sweet potato fritters, braised chard, and mushrooms ($22). The celery root puree was a smash hit. I will definitely try this at home in the near future. The chicken was decent. I loved the duck. It was very tender and I ended up nibbling the good bits straight off the bone. My hubby liked the fritters and he thought it was a good touch to add a bit of anise flavoring to the chard.

The consensus was favorable and we would consider returning to check out some of the other offerings. All of the wait personnel were very nice and welcoming despite us being dressed down and not having a reservation. I would definitely suggest using a printed menu for patio diners, though.

Butternut Squash Soup

A few nights ago I made a Butternut Squash soup. I found the original recipe – Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream – on www. epicurious.com. Of course, there were a few things in the recipe that I wanted to change, like, not using as many apples, leaving out the apple cider, and adding crème fraiche instead of the cider cream. My version follows. But just a note of caution on the butternut squash. This was the fist time I had worked with butternut squash. The gourd was very hard to cut and peel. The flesh was so hard that I thought I had purchased one that was not ripe (this was not the case). On top of it all, where I had handled the squash flesh, my skin dried out so much that my fingertips looked like they had been burned. Handling the squash with gloves may be prudent for next time.

Butternut Squash Soup

5 tablespoons butter
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into small pieces
3 leeks, diced (white and pale green parts only)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
½ of a fennel bulb, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
6 cups chicken stock or broth
½ cup whipping cream
Crème fraiche
Fresh chives, chopped

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium high heat. Add squash, leeks, carrots, and fennel. Sauté until softened, about 20-30 minutes. Stir in apples, thyme, and sage. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for about 30-45 minutes. Turn off burner and remove soup from heat source. Using an emulsifier (aka boat motor), puree soup (you can also use a blender or food processor). Return soup to burner and heat on low. Right before serving, stir in whipping cream. Ladle soup into bowls. Place a dollop of crème fraiche in the middle of the soup. Sprinkle with chives.