Next dinner, next year:

Due to holiday scheduling; we are not continuing the development dinner series until after the first of the year. The next three dinner outlines are done. We hope to have a couple of smaller pre – development meals in Dec. The feature menu items will be a second run with Calamari, a Scallops entrée, the first of four soups and the first of five desserts. We will post development information as we get closer to the dates in Jan. The resulting time this next month will rest in costing of the first round of recipes and in developing the front of House management tools and spreadsheets. We expect to do at least one post a week. It will fall usually on Weds. or Thurs. in order to keep all interested parties up on the progression of our culinary venture. Type to you soon….

Salad thoughts

GREEK SALAD
Last night we plated a dinner for four. It was soup and salad with salad being the Greek Salad. We reduced the portion amounts from our last dinner and the result was perfect. The lettuce while only being reduced by half an ounce was still twenty five percent smaller on the plate. The total weight of the plate went from 8.5 to 7.5 oz. visually the smaller portion was on target. All four diners commented that the plate was very satisfying.
We only had 2 servings worth of Manouri cheese, so Rachel and I had an organic Feta cheese. We found the salad to be really salty do to the Feta and higher concentration of brined ingredients. The reduction of lettuce increased percentage of the brined products in the salad. With Feta it was a different experience. One on the salty side of town, so to speak. It really proved, what was resounded in the diner's reviews, of a wonderful balance. We are happy with this plate.

It has begun.....

Recently the first development dinner for our cutting edge restaurant concept took place. On the menu was Calamari with trio of sauces, Greek Salad and Seafood Risotto. The purpose of this series of dinners is to do trail runs on recipes and portions that will be on the Riviera Bistro menu. It is also to get a range of reviews from panels of diners (8) that vary in backgrounds and tastes. To start our first blog we will cover the dinner's courses and what is the present development position of the dishes. These development dinners are being held in our private residence. Some of the challenges, in the home environment is always equipment. Especially when you are trying to recreate the professional setting.
The first course was to hopefully be a kick-off with fireworks, but the rocket was a dud. We purchased a table top deep fryer that was designed for a home earlier in the week. The size of a commercial unit and our available space headed us toward a smaller unit. The test recipes and fryer had worked perfectly. Crispy, tender, breaded calamari without wheat flour. The sauce pairings of marinara, remouldade and basil puree accented the calamari wonderfully. The fryer adapter had unstable magnetic posts. They had no secure feeling when plugged in. The fryer heated fully and then shut off, it was hot and was turned on 30 min before the first course was to go out. The unit was hot to the touch but when the calamari was dropped into the oil the unit was dead, thus resulting in slow oil poached calamari with no breading. That was the opposite of what we were going for. The reviews were favorable across the board on sauces and that product was edible.It was a good test for a strong sauce caring a weak protein. We had intended for pictures but this one was not photo worthy. We are going to purchase another fryer unit and try this again at another dinner. The sauce recipes are finalized. The sauces were striped on the plate. Some comments were that while the flavors complimented each other it made them individually hard to tell the taste between one another. This comment was consistent on half of the reviews, the plating of sauces will be reviewed in the future.
The next course restored the food to the level intended. The Greek salad featured a sheep's milk, Greek cheese much like feta, called manouri. The reviews were all promisingly positive for both flavor and presentation. The only critique was a review of too large of a portion. The plate did have a total wight of over 8 oz. The total weight is going to be reduced to 7 oz. The ingredient reductions have been adjusted in the plating recipe. This recipe is final. In the haste to make up for course one, there were no pictures taken. One will be posted on our facebook address coming up soon.
The last course was Seafood Risotto. Arborio rice cooked with shrimp and chicken stocks, finished with cream and crab. Seared jumbo scallops and shrimp accompanied by a asparagus puree and tips. Finishing touches were a Parmesan tuille and balsamic reduction. The plate received good reviews all around for flavor and presentation. The Parmesan tuille being a little tough was included on a couple of reviews. The crisp was a last minute touch and was a bit large. A lighter crisper version will be on the menu in a reduced size. The recipes on this are final. The portion and presentation are going to be reviewed.
It has begun, what is hoped to be a long, successful, fun, and flavorful culinary journey. It travels on a vessel that is free of wheat , barley and rye. The destination is the same as any, exquisite flavor with picturesque presentations. Thanks for reading..... more is to come.