Down Home Goodness!!

The band Alabama once famously said, “Down home, where they know you by name and treat you like family.”  I believe that this statement applies not only to a geographic location but to an experience.  An experience we can only get from food that is unpretentious, inviting, familiar, and nostalgic.  While the “Comfort Food” trend has started to fade into the sunset lets welcome a new revival of grandmother’s classics with fun and exciting twists.

What can be more down home and welcoming on a warm spring day then a refreshing glass of fresh lemonade?  An iced glass of sweet and tart lemonade slowing beading condensation down a glass while grills are blazing and kids are playing in the yard is as Americana as you can get!  What could make this any better?  How about infusing the lemonade with fresh herbs from the garden like rosemary, basil and mint, then spiking the drink with citron vodka and topping each glass with a bubbly splash of spicy ginger beer.  The herbs enhanced the sweetness with a fresh herbal bouquet while the citron intensified the tart lemon flavor with the sparkling ginger beer contributing a surprising and refreshing bite.  Pour me a glass and let’s cook!

Growing up one of my favorite salads was my grandmother’s spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette.  She grew, among other things, the most amazing crisp spinach I have ever had, and every day over the spring and summer my brother and I would go to the farm with her and pick a big basket of dark green foliage.  She created a salad using fresh mushrooms, onions and warm bacon vinaigrette all topped with a perfectly poached egg from those little cups you set in simmering water.  For our adaptation we used grilled Portobello mushrooms, shaved red onion, corn bread croutons, oven poached eggs and a warm sweet and sour red wine vinaigrette.  The succulent mushrooms touched by the char of the grill added a body and meatiness to the salad while the shaved onion and vinaigrette provided an acidic bite.  The cornbread croutons lent a sweetness and crunch to balance the silky texture of the runny oven poached egg.

When I imagine a down home meal potatoes always come to mind.  Mashed, roasted, baked or glazed potatoes are the go to starch for down home celebrations.  My absolute favorite has to be scalloped potatoes, thinly sliced potatoes layered with caramelized onions, cheese and a rich sauce then baked until soft and golden.  How can you make this any more comforting, make a soup!  Introducing New York white cheddar scalloped potato soup with cavolo nero and a sweet balsamic glaze.  We pureed the scalloped potatoes with a hearty splash of cream and chicken stock and barely simmered till a rich and smooth soup was achieved, then we added handfuls of torn cavolo nero ( Italian black Kale) and covered till the greens were wilted but kept a slight snap.  Right before service we topped with a swirl of sweet balsamic vinegar glaze to balance the slight bitter bite of the greens.  Everything you need in one small bowl!

Meatloaf, it has every connotation these days from the horrors of the school cafeteria to the Kobe beef stuffed with foie gras of New York City!  But while the meatloaf slider has come and gone, why not change up the format once more by changing the loaf to a cake, a cup cake!  Presenting our trio of mini meatloaf cupcakes “Iced” with 3 different mashed potatoes icings.   Each little loaf was a bust of flavor between sweet and savory, with the juices from the meat being soaked up by the creamy potato toppings.  A perfect single bite of nostalgia every time!
Meatloaf with caramelized apples and roasted poblano peppers with a chili sweet potato icing, followed by the lamb meatloaf mixed with cherry vermouth chutney topped with preserved lemon and feta whipped potatoes, and lastly our traditional home-style veal with sautéed sweet peppers, onion and garlic then topped with rosemary and Parmesan mashed potatoes.

Now let’s talk ice cream; home-style, rich and velvety, the perfect end to any down home dinner.  But why stick with vanilla; chocolate or strawberry let’s branch out with something bold and crazy!  Let me introduce you to our newest summer sensation, sweet tea ice cream topped with a warm preserved lemon and honey syrup.  The rich tea flavor is infused into the cream then mixed with a touch of pure honey to create a sweet symphony of summer.  The saltiness of the preserved lemon mixes with the sweetness of the honey creates a triumph of flavors reminiscent of your first cold glass of sweet tea.

We can never forget our roots, our culinary traditions that made us who we are today.  Each bite or sip of some down home goodness brings us back to the people and places we love, and that is what comfort food is all about!  Stay tuned for more inspired dishes from Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions Research and Development Department!

Black Strapped!!

Rum, the drink that built America, the drink that “inspired” our fore fathers to take up arms and start a revolution has been dethroned.  This historical spirit has been relegated to the super sweet frozen cocktails of spring breakers in Miami, Mexico or the Carribbean,or the first drink of 21 year olds mixed with a coke.  This is a sad state my friends and we here at Inspired Occasions have found the new champion of Rum, the bad boy in black that will bring rum back to the forefront of your mind and your palate.

Black Strap Rum is the darkest cousin in the rum family, made from black strap molasses. It is a deep in color and it’s complex nature takes your taste buds on a cruise not soon forgotten.  We jumped on that cruise and now we present you with the souvenirs of our journey.

First settle in with our newest Island Cocktail, “The Left Lane”, a bright and refreshing drink made with Inspired Occasions famous gingered orange juice, Meyers Rum, and then a float of Black Strap bringing the contrasting rums shoulder to shoulder.  Each sip is preceded by the powerful bouquet of dark molasses, coffee, chocolate, and spice but then followed by the bright bite of the gingered orange juice and the sweetness of the Meyers.  Served chilled over ice this cocktail transports you to your favorite beach, lying in a hammock caressed by the gentle fingers of a soft tropical breeze.

Cocktails are only part of the “rum” story; the real winner here came from a simple amalgam of salt, sugar, water and rum.  This brine is the flavorful elixir that made chicken juicy and plump, swordfish moist and tender… but I am getting ahead of myself, let me introduce our first creation blackstrap brined and grilled chicken sliders with black strap rum BBQ sauce and seasoned tomatoes.  The brine added a dark and complex flavor to the chicken which was accentuated by the spicy and rich BBQ sauce, while the tomato added a perfect sweetness, acidity and freshness to every bite. 

Now I must preface our next discovery with a bit of a disclosure, culinary research is all about mixing flavors that are harmonious and balanced.  Some days you play with the classics, but other days you dive headfirst into the deep end of the crazy pool!  Introducing the newest addition to the grilled chicken slider, caramelized banana butter and sliced scallions!  This sweet and buttery spread tamed the spice in the sauce, enhanced the “Hint of rum” in the chicken while the scallions added an extra crunch and fresh onion bite.  I am still in disbelief over how amazingly well this combination worked; you never know what you will discover.

The grill may be a great medium for a brined breast of chicken chicken but the fryer is where a brined bird sings, and wow did this bird have some golden pipes!  Introducing the Pan fried black strap brined chicken slider with a fresh grilled mango salsa and a dollop of Rum BBQ sauce.  This cocktail sandwich soars to a  whole new level: The crispy fried chicken yields to the bright sweetness and smokiness of the grilled fresh mango and dances with the diced jalapenos, cilantro and lime juice thereby boosting the dark rum taste. and all the while toning tone down the spice of the BBQ.  A moist and tender cut of white meat, exploding with the spice and flavor of the rum. 

It is common knowledge that brining is the way to keep lean pork and juicy and succulent but why can’t other meats play in the salty solutions?  Take a look at our new summer .  The Cous Cous is dressed with a roasted garlic vinaigrette accentuated by caramelized black strap rum onions and blistered sweet peppers.  The swordfish was quickly brined then introduced to the grill resulting in a beautiful lightly smoked and chared serving of fish bursting with all of the rich dark flavors of the rum.  The warm cous cous provided a perfect a balance to the fish.  The sweet rum bite from the onions rounded out the profile while the sweet blistered peppers added a final note of sweet, heat and savoryness.  This dish will heat up any event with a “Hot and Trendy” taste of the tropics!

For something on the lighter side take taste test our newest creation, a fresh spinach salad topped with shaved red onion, toasted pepitas, green chili cornbread croutons, fresh strawberries, whipped herbed goat cheese; Dressed with a sweet, spicy and sassy mango and black strap rum vinaigrette.  The contrast of flavors, textures, sweet and spice are perfectly balanced while dancing delicately on the bed of crisp and flavorful spinach.  The whipped goat cheese crowns the salad heralding a creaminess to contrast the crunch of the pepitas and the crispiness of the cornbread croutons.  The black strap rum and mango vinaigrette was finished with finely diced fresh mango providing an added texture.and touch of tropical sweet. A perfect salad for a night on the beach with a mojito or at home with friends and a good bottle of wine!

Enough about the savory side lets dive taste buds first into my favorite course, dessert!  The Black   Presenting our new classic, Black strap rum Ice cream topped with caramel corn, homemade caramel sauce, and a sprinkling of grey sea salt.  This creation is over the top, the ice cream tastes of the best butter pecan ice cream you have ever had but with a rich complexity behind the scenes making it so much more.  The crunch and sweetness of the caramel corn intensifies the experience while the salt and the velvety caramel coat every bite in sweet warmth like the tropical sun on a morning beach.

Strap Rum just screamed ice cream from the very first sip. I was not going to say no to such a persuasive taste.

Black Strap Rum may be new to us, but the dishes developed taste like pure classics.  Stay tuned for more inspired dishes from Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions Research and Development Department!

Viva Las Vegas!!

Vegas claims, “What happens here stays here.”  But time and time again this line has been proven false!  This was especially true after the Catersource Conference and Tradeshow we at LLIO recently attended.  The nights were wild, the food was amazing, and I am here to spill my guts on all of it and tell you a tale or two of things we learned.  So sit back, relax and remember, Viva Las Vegas!

Beets have quickly become one of my favorite vegetables; bursting with colors, full of deep rich flavor, and being so versatile what’s not to love?  After a few meals in the city of sin we started to see beets coming back and being presented much more prominently and proudly on the menus.  So with this in mind lets us present our version of the roasted beet napoleon; roasted golden and bulls blood beets layered between herbed smoked goat cheese and ricotta accented with fresh thyme and lemon zest, then drizzle with a lemon and cracked black pepper vinaigrette.  We topped the beets with springs of fresh thyme and lemon zest, then finished off the plate with fresh arugula and shaved red onion.  The beets were meaty and deep accented by the sweet peppery bite of the vinaigrette while using the goat cheese and ricotta to bind and enhance all the flavors.  The bite of the fresh thyme and lemon zest took this dish over the top, a perfect dish to welcome any season!

While we are talking about beets, let’s discuss another often overlooked vegetable or vegetable category, leafy greens.  These dark dinosaurs are the ancestors of all modern cabbages, broccolis and sprouts, yet are not shown the love and attention they deserve.  Considering most people associate greens with long slow simmers with pork shanks as a side dish to fried chicken, and there is nothing wrong with this, I say it’s time to take a trip on the fresh side of greens.  Let me introduce you to a new leaf of green innovation, our rainbow chard and cavolo nero salad with roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries, seasoned roasted walnuts, green onions and a blood orange vinaigrette.  This is a mouthful of textures, flavors and smells, each more intense and inviting than the last.  The greens have a wonderful hearty texture compared to the soft roasted squash, the crunch of the walnuts and the chew of the dried cranberries.  What ties this all together is the sweet yet tangy blood orange vinaigrette made with fresh blood orange juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, and extra virgin olive oil.  A true taste sensation.

Speaking of leafy greens why not delve into one of my favorite yet least used herbs in my garden, Thai basil.  Its sweet anise flavor can be intense and sweet, but its depth of flavor and complexity come to life with the application of heat.  With that direction lets dive into a bowl of our newest development, Thai basil fried rice with julienned radishes and grilled baby bok choy.  Once again grilled bok choy comes into play, both for the depth of flavor it provides and the texture it adds to rice dishes.  The Thai basil pops this dish, adding a slight anise flavor but a very big and deep almost curry note perfuming the rice.  This would be a perfect dish on its own or with grilled chicken, or beef, or shrimp, or fish…. really just about anything would be a perfect companion for this dish.

Second to the light bulb, fennel is my favorite bulb.  This is the original home of anise and licorice flavor but the texture, and sweetness is hard to find anywhere else.  I have loved fennel in every incarnation I can, caramelized in brown butter, shaved and mixed in with French potato salad, and now apple cider braised with seared Brussels sprouts.  We cubed the fennel and sautéed the chunks to a nice golden brown, added some granny smith apples, then a dash of cider vin and fresh apple cider, this braised away on the stove top till the fennel was soft with a touch of texture left and the apples yielded away to your fork.  This mixture was then added to Brussels sprouts hot seared then tossed with crispy homemade pancetta.  A taste and texture explosion like you wouldn’t believe!!  Bright hits from the vinegar mix with the sweetness of the apple and fennel, offset by the herbal saltiness of the crispy pancetta, then rounded out by the seared sprouts. 

With all this green talk we almost overlooked the most crucial part of any meal, dessert!  But what would be a fun an exciting new twist on dessert, what was new and exciting, what would be perfect for spring…. Eureka!  A good friend of ours at Catersource led us to this perfect cocktail,  introducing our line of beer floats perfect to beat the heat of the summer.  We used a classic combination of blue moon and orange, except we replace the orange slice with orange sherbet.  The sweetness of the beer paired perfectly with the sorbet melding the two together into a sweet beer treat!  Our next addition to the line, which I never got a chance to photograph before it was so rudely eaten, was a dark modelo topped with our signature chocolate habanera and lime ice cream.  The sweet dark chocolate mixed with the cold heat and the tang of lime made for a perfect taste sensation taking you back to a hot day in Mexico, or your favorite pool side lounger.

They claim what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but you can’t stop inspiration and ideas have no geographic limitation.  So let’s raise a toast to the city of sin, may she always inspire us to keep creating and stay on our toes.

Stay tuned for more inspired dishes from Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions Research and Development Department!

Southern Smokehouse

I love the smoker.  No joke, no punch line or caveats, I just love our smoker with a pure unadulterated passion.  Over the years we have smoked everything from house corned beef shanks, heirloom tomatoes and tenderloins to fresh goat cheese, leeks and eggplants.  Almost nothing is off limits when it comes to the wonder that is smoke.  So this week I kicked around some of our classic dishes and took them for a spin through our house of hickory.

I must warn you now this next section contains nuts!  Bar nuts are a perfect snack food.  Weather they are roasted, toasted, seasoned sweet or spicy; they are always the perfect choice for munching and cocktailing.  At Inspired Occasions we have developed a few different recipes to satisfy every pallet but two recipes stood out leaving me wanting something more! 

Introducing our new Chinese five spice smoked cashews with a dusting of cayenne!  The cashews were tossed in lightly whipped egg whites, five spice, cayenne, kosher salt and cracked black pepper before being placed in the smoker to cure.  The result is a shiny and crunchy shell around a rich and meaty cashew highlighted by the brightness of anise, cloves and pepper.  But the real player was the smoke which brought out and changed the flavor of the five spice into a sweeter more balanced flavor, without overwhelming the other ingredients.  

For some contrasting flavors try our newest smoked hot and spicy mixed nuts!  Cashews, macadamias, peanuts, pecans and brazil nuts sautéed with butter, Worcestershire, celery salt, Seasoning salt, cumin, cayenne, and granulated garlic.  These nuts alone are a flavor bomb of spicy, salty goodness but once they took a long slow nap in the smoke box the game changed.  After a 2 hour smoke, flavor was way too intense, bitter and almost acrid.  But, like most good things, a little patience and curing time was required.  We let them cure overnight; The next day we were greeted with a perfectly smoked, hot and spicy, mixed nut that was above and beyond our expectations.  The butter soaked up the smoke then coated each one of the nuts, soaking into every pore overnight, resulting in a perfect smoky bite.  The transformation was simply amazing.

But enough about snacks let’s talk about something really fun, dessert!  I know what you are thinking and let me tell you that this next taste sensation will shake your foundation.  Presenting our smoked banana pudding tart, with a crisp nilla wafer crust layered with fresh bananas then topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  The pudding was prepared by “cold smoking” peeled bananas and mashing them with a little banana liqueur then incorporating them into a velvety smooth but thick pudding.  The smoke was once again took center stage at first, but given time, settled back to a more subtle supporting role enhancing the sweetness and banana flavor in the pudding.  The firm raw bananas on the bottom of the tart provided that perfect textural journey between the smooth pudding and the crisp wafer crust.  As my friend from Charleston once said, “There is no reason why this should exist, but I am so happy it does!” 

Here’s to a “Smokin Hot” Spring!

Stay tuned for more inspired dishes from Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions Research and Development Department!

An Inspired Valentine

Here we are again, another February 14^th has arrived and the time has come to shower our loved ones with gifts, flowers, chocolates and gastronomic delights.  But you can’t bestow upon your dearest beloved the same chocolate dipped strawberries and heart shaped box of chocolates every year!  There must be some variety and spice in your offerings, and that is where we here at Inspired Occasions come to your rescue.  This Valentine’s Day we venture away from the tried and true, while still staying true to the message of the holiday.  Love is in the air, but bliss is on the plate.

We start the evening off with a modern twist on the classic strawberry salad.  Fresh plump strawberries decorate a mound of tender spring mix greens, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds, shaved red onion and dressed with a warm balsamic glaze vinaigrette.  The twist that takes this salad over the top is the addition of a warm Tri color peppercorn and goat cheese mousse.  Crushed pink, black and white peppercorns gently folded into the warm goat cheese mousse that drapes over the greens adding a creamy and light textural contrast to the crunch of the peppercorns and pumpkin seeds.  The black pepper and strawberries are a natural combination and, this is the next evolution.

What would a day all about love be without some pork, roast rack of pork to be precise, but a bit of backtracking to a historical dessert before we continue.  Cherries jubilee is one of mine, and my father’s, favorite desserts.  The flavors are so intense and bold we decided not to keep them a prisoner of the dessert plate.  Introducing our new roast rack of pork with cherries jubilee glaze, wild rice pilaf and steamed broccolini.  The glaze is prepared with all the classic flavors with fun twists, cherry preserves and orange marmalade provided the base, black peppercorns brought a spice and bite, rich chicken stock added body, brandy and triple sec added fresh and bright aromas and flavors.  After the sauce had simmered for the proper amount of time, we mounted it with a few dabs of butter and ladled it over lovely porky goodness.  Savory wild rice pilaf accented with thyme was the perfect companion for the sweet and juicy pork chops. 

Now for dessert, who says it always has to be chocolate?  Every Valentine’s Day sweethearts give chocolate as gifts, eat chocolate at dinner, and sometimes even drink chocolate beer or wine.  Enough already!  Let’s break this tradition of chocohaulism America, and here is where you can start!  Presenting our newest, and one of my recent favorites, grilled caramelized peach with vanilla Greek yogurt ice cream, toasted pistachios drizzled with chocolate (It’s a 12 step program getting over chocolate), and finished with warm dried blueberries reconstituted in honey, triple sec, lemon juice and fresh orange zest.  I can’t even begin to describe the flavor here; each bite is like happiness incarnate.  The grilled peach is sweet and juicy with a touch of char from the grill, paired with the velvety smooth vanilla Greek yogurt is a match made in heaven.  The salty crunch of the pistachios drizzled with just a touch of rich chocolate, (we cannot go cold turkey here), pair perfectly with the pop of the marinated blue berries, warm and dripping with honey and triple sec.  The only way to make this better would be to pair it with an ice cold glass of blueberry limoncello…. which we just so happen to have.

Stay tuned for more inspired dishes from Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions Research and Development Department!