Dinner was kind of a last minute idea this week. D’s brother Kevin was in town to hang, Nancy was down for the week, and everyone had Saturday off.  Everything just fell into place for us to have a family dinner.  See, most of us rarely get to show our families what we do. Even though, except for P’s folks, most of our families live rather close by, dinners as you all know are not too easy to get into.  So about once or twice a year we try to get everyone together and catch up. This being somewhat impromptu, not everyone could come but we made the best of it.  There was even a last minute opening (Steve for the win!). Thanks everyone who got in touch with us! It is so amazing the response we have received these last 4 years.  We know it can be difficult to get into dinners. It’s a small little place that can fill up real quick. We’re never going to stop, so you will get here at some point. This is not a restaurant. This is our hobby, our passion and our home (ideologically and, on some late nights, literally).  If you’ve not yet been, keep trying.  We want to meet you and share our home with you. Just watch out for Matt, he’s a hugger. (Just kidding OB)

Ok, enough digression. DINNER! Kevin being in town provided us an excuse and an opportunity to show him what inspires us here in this wonderful place called Athens. The sheer glut of badass things happening around here now is awesome. Farmers market twice a week, local eggs, milk, produce, and protein! Thank you P.L.A.C.E, all the farmers at the market and who deliver to the restaurants, Moonshine Meats, and anyone I left out and also to everyone who supports this with your time, your energy and your wallet. Again with the digression. Sorry. If you know me you know that tangents and rambling are my specialties.  Long story short, we had an opportunity to go talk with Jared (www.imhighoncooking.com) who is basically running the pork operation for Moonshine meats. Jared is an amazing person and very much an inspiration to me. Read his blog. Get to know him. Buy him a beer and tell him he’s pretty rad.  He toured us around the whole pork operation out at Fowler Farms. That is some back braking and intense work going on out there, but totally worth it. You taste the time and care that goes into these animals in the meat. Know where you meat comes from!

Ok, dinner for real this time. Started the day off at the market @ bishop park. Got some amazing toms and heirloom melons from Boo & Becky, green toms from McMullen, blueberries from Jim. Cut to D’s house where he is putting the Boston butt in the big green egg to hot smoke. Back to the 4CM house where Matty and I start grinding and casing some sausages  (promise to get some pics of this up in the future, missed ‘em this time). The rest of the day is the usual blur of the high-energy kitchen.  Highlights of the day: Patrick being a sauce wizard with everything, D rolling out the pasta and then turning around to see the shower bar covered in coat hangers full of fettuccini, first slice of gravlax, first bite of the INSANELY good pork butt, stealing Rando’s gruyere crisps when he was not looking, first sip of the consommé.  Speaking of the consommé, we never repeat a dish, but we will revisit it. I loved this. We’ve made the straight-up tom one before, but the addition of the melon was sooooo good.  The best dish of the night has to go to the gravlax, though. Dear sweet Jesus. Might be one of the best dishes ever in the house. Totally simple but with the wine and the perfect bite with every element, well, just damn. Everything else was great as well, but to be honest, not totally pumped on the dessert.  I mean I’m not disappointed in it, but the weather and the size of our lil’ oven did not work with the idea I had in mind. Still good, but this blog is here for us to be honest. Not my favorite I’ve ever done. Ok, I’m done. Sorry for the wall of text. Thanks for staying interested! See you soon.

-e.

MENU:

Tomato Two Ways:  Consommé w/ Heirloom Honeydew,
Roasted Roma Tartare, Gruyere Crisp, Arugula
w/ Domaine Regusse,”L” Rose Brut,  FR NV

Wild Sockeye Gravlax w/ Cucumber, Mint, Candied Lemon, Crème Fraiche
w/ Kiralyudvar, Tokaji Sec, HU ’05

Housemade Fettucini Carbonara w/ Pork Sausage, Sweet Corn, Piquillo Pepper
w/ Mer Soleil, Chardonnay, CA ‘07

Smoked Pork Shoulder w/ Fried Green Tomatoes, Sweet Slaw, Blueberry Sauce
w/ Can Dez Mas, “L’Equilibrista”, ES ‘07

Oatmeal w/ Local Blueberries, Lemon Yogurt
w/ Justin, “Obtuse”, Late Harvest Cabernet, CA ’07

So it seems like chilled soups have become somewhat of a running idea with us the last few dinners, but it’s HOT. Like damn hot. I’ve lived in the south all my life and yet every summer it’s still hits me like a yankee. But it’s why we love the south, it’s what pools, lakes, swimmin’ holes and the like are for.  So yeah, chilled Vidalia onion soup. A dish that totally captures all the above sentiments using one of the jewels in the crown of the south. Our onion. The best one in my opinon.  And to top that we have our house-cured lardo.  For anyone who doesn’t salivate at the idea of cured, pan-fried crispy pork fat, I feel sorry for you. Totally missin’ out.  Again Matty is a wizard with his charcuterie skills. And everything in that dish was as local as you can get. Pork from moonshine meats, basil from Rando and toms & onions from the empire state of the south. (not the soon to be opened restaurant, but a shameless plug for them anyway.)

I could go on about the rest of the courses, but I have a better story to share. The meal was amazing, we had a great crowd of new and old friends, the party lasted late into the evening, all in all everything we love about doing this.  One of the best perks of doing this, though, is the times after everyone is gone that we get to tear into some of the food we made. See, the thing is, we eat very little on dinner days. One thing that any line cook, chef, etc will tell you is that nothing kills your appetite like cooking all day. It’s why you always see service industry people eat late at night.  So except for the occasional taco or some rad bar-b-que (HOLLIS!) we basically are on a “liquid diet” most of the day. So after the evening has died down, and the booze-fueled hunger has set in, food is the chief priority.  We’re not talking the “fancy” food we served, but the most greasy, awesome bad for you but amazing interpretation of it. After everyone had left, even most of the coursemen, Matt, Patrick, Noah, myself and our friend/fellow cook Jake had the great idea to destroy the rest of the quail. Patrick made the best fridge-raiding version of buffalo sauce ever and we set up the fryer. Here I have to add that we were all on the other side of sober at this point, so kids, don’t try this at home.  We sat on out front porch, large handle of Jack Daniels in hand, and demolished a ton of breaded and fried quail breasts. It was messy, spicy and one of the best things I have ever eaten. Not to keep dwelling on the same point, but that moment totally captured what I love about the summer, the south, and my town. Nothing beats sittin’ on the front porch with your bros, getting a little drunk and eating basically the best hot wings ever created.  So, as a future tip, stick around after dinner. You never know what might happen….

-e.

MENU:

Chilled Vidalia Onion Soup w/ Roasted Tomato, Crisp Lardo, Basil Oil
w/ Hugel Et Fils, Pinot Gris, FR ‘06

Watercress Salad w/ Housemade Ricotta, Local Green Beans, Proscuitto, Tomato, Lemon Chive Viniagrette
w/ Les Hexagonales, Savignon Blanc, FR ‘08

Sablefish w/ Roasted Patty Pan Squash, Eggplant Puree, Curried Carrot Cream, Shallot Rings
w/ Morgan, Unoaked Chardonnay, CA ‘08

Quail Two Ways – Chicken Fried Breast & Leg Confit w/ Sweet Corn, Arugula, Fresh Plum, Plum Souse
w/ Decoy, Pinot Noir, CA ’08

Spiced Banana Chocolate Ice Cream Bar w/ Coffee Dust, Oatmeal Cookie Fingers, Fruit Coulis
w/ Hudson, NY Corn Whiskey, USA, NV

I think this was the best dinner of the year so far. A truly amazing crowd of folks came to share the night with us! Also, for the first time in a long while, the whole family was together again.  Dear jesus did it show. I can’t even begin to describe how incredible the terrine was.  It truly was an awesome piece of craftsmanship. Matty never fails to impress with his ability to execute an idea.

What can I say about the smoked tomato gazpacho? We’ve done a few iterations of gazpacho in the past, but come on! That was unparalleled! A perfect balance of heat and tomato sweetness with a lingering smokiness tied together by the soothing aspect of the pesto.  The best summer soup ever in my opinion.

In the interest of full disclosure, which is the point of the posts (other than me totally bragging about us), we really liked the crab & corn cake, but it needed something. What that something was, to be honest, was sitting on the stove the entire time. A little side note about us, we occasionally forget some stuff. It’s a testament to how well we work together that we always make it work, no matter the problem. So, yeah, totally forgot the brown butter. Still was a really good dish. These little things, which most people probably don’t notice or maybe they do, are what makes us charming. Just a family of friends cooking dinner in a small shotgun house for some good people in our neighborhood.

I’ve probably had buttered cabbage at some point, but it was unmemorable. This is what makes Patrick a wizard in my book. Taking something that would normally be a footnote and really showing how it can be this really flavorful backbone to an amazing dish. It has always been his strength. His ideas and flavor combinations are one of the chief driving forces behind the group. He has made the cherry and toms for me before, but all of this together, well Holy Shit! Talk about a completely decadent seeming dish that finishes very light and satisfying but never becomes the gut-bomb it could have been.

Dessert was really special for me this time. Not for anything really unique or challenging, but because it was my first dessert since I have been back. My desserts have always been a little playful, and this was no exception, but it meant more than just that.  I had to leave the guys and Athens for a bit this year and there was a good chance I was not going to come back. A few things career-wise were pulling me in some different directions, but, thankfully I had this and I realized it was too important to leave. Without getting to serious, this is the greatest thing I have ever been a part of and I have found a family in the Four Coursemen. Thanks for supporting us for this long and here’s to 4 more years!

I can’t leave without saying how integral she is and how awesome it was to have Nancy back. Our food would only be good without her. She makes us legit. Nancy it was amazing that you were here! We, and I’m sure everyone else, miss you and Michael!

Sorry for the long-winded post. I’m a little loquacious when I’m excited. Thanks again everyone. We’re going to keep doin’ dinners, you guys keep comin’!

-e

MENU:

Local Chicken and Chanterelle Terrine w/ Smoked Duck Breast, Arugula, Pickled Green Beans, Blueberry Mostarda
w/ Falernia, Pedro Ximenez, CH ‘08

Smoked Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho w/ Randy’s Basil Pesto
w/ Dagueneau, Pouilly Fume, FR ’06

Peekytoe Crab w/ Local Corn Cakes, Grilled Peaches, Pea Shoots, Brown Butter
w/ Sauvion, Rose d’ Anjou, FR ‘08

Lamb T-Bone w/ Buttered Cabbage, Roasted Cherry Tomato, Raspberry, Truffle Salt
w/ Hawkes, Merlot, CA ’03

“Milk & Cookies” Three Ways
w/ Southern Tier Brewing Co., “Mokah”, NY, NV

PHOTOS: courtesy of Chrissy Reed