Cloak & Dinner: Carnevale di Venezia || 10/22/11

Our first private supper, booked exclusively by my parents for their friends who've all had yet the chance to try our cooking, even though we take over their house on a monthly basis and turn it into our own private kitchen studio.  Knowing that we were cooking for a group of massive wine fanatics, we decided to head to Italy for a little Carnevale experience...

A tavola non si invecchia!

Tonight, we travel to Carnevale di Venezia! Each year, forty days of pageantry light up the ancient canals and corridors of Venice, as masked revelers sing, dance, and feast their way to Martedì Grasso. A Venezia, you talk with your hands and cook con il cuore... (with your heart.) We've gathered tastes da tutto il paese to capture the intoxicating spirit of the Queen of the Adriatic, but in truth, the food is only one small part of the eternal essence di Carnivale. Unirsi a noi per gustare i sapori d'Italia, e, così facendo, diventano una vera famiglia. Mi scusi, I got carried away there for a moment. Park your Gondolas, don your bauta, and viva la vita! Tonight we celebrate il Carnevale, wishing it could last all year.

As always, here are a few housekeeping notes.  If you'd like to be added to the mailing list for future C&D dinners, please email rsvp@cloakanddinner.com. and remember you can also follow us on twitter @cloakanddinner.

Antipasto

compartmentalized caprese

deconstructed caprese salad with pesto olive oil in pipettes & sweet balsamic reduction
 

Zuppa

gazpacho of melon with prosciutto duo

a play on melon & prosciutto with both fried & fresh and a garnish of mint
 

Primo

smoked salmon lasagna

a fan favorite from the Rags to Riches dinner!
 

Il Contorno

a walk through the garden

edible mushroom dirt with an elderflower spiked salad garden
 

Secondo

array of scented sea salts with steak

taken from our A Day in the Life dinner we accented with baby potatoes, cauliflower & exotic sea salts including ghost pepper, garlic & hickory smoke

Fromaggio

goat + parmesan panna cotta

a goat cheese panna cotta topped with a parmesan tuile and "kalamata olive" grapes reduced in red wine

Dolce

not your traditional tiramisu

deconstructed. chocolate mousse with sponge cake, espresso mascarpone and bacon cocaine

 

And of course... onto the cocktails!

with a few non alcoholic drinkers in the midst, Isaac got to flex his creative muscles for some non-alcoholic libations

Eastern Standard Time (non-alcoholic)

cucumber/cranberry/lime/sugar/salt

Faux Kir (non-alcoholic)

raspberry/sparkling cider

Winter Warmer (non-alcoholic)

pear/cranberry/lemon/cinnamon

Clockwork Orange

gin/whiskey/orange/lime/miracle mile chocolate-chili bitters/nutmeg

Basil Gimlet

gin/basil/agave/lime

Honey Fig Redemtion

rye/honey/mint/lemon/fig/shiraz

Cocktail Roulette: Shine Gimlet

Thank god Boardwalk Empire is back... I was definitely missing a little Nucky in my life.  It's helping fill the gap between Seasons 1 & 2 of Game of Thrones.  What would we do without HBO?

As part of our last Cloak & Dinner: The Time Machine, we traveled right back to the Prohibition Era and our master mixologist Isaac cooked up his take on a Gimlet, albeit with moonshine like they'd have made it back then.  Enjoy!

Shine Gimlet

• 2 oz Moonshine
• 1oz Fresh Lime Juice
• ¾ oz Simple Syrup
• 2 cucumber slices, muddled
• 6 mint leaves, muddled
• 2 dashes celery bitters

Muddle together cucumber slices and mint leaves.  Add in your celery bitters, lime juice, simple syrup & moonshine with a heavy helping of ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into a coupe. Garnish with a cucumber slice and/or a fresh mint leaf.

Cocktail Roulette: Ginger Figgle aka "Slow Screw"

Did you know Cloak & Dinner has a book club? Why yes we do, and our first task is tackling the whole George R.R. Martin manifesto while brainstorming appropriate feast like courses for the eventual "Game of Thrones" C&D event in the near future... GET EXCITED!

Thankfully our awesome mixologist Isaac conjured up a fitting cocktail to accompany a long stint of reading in a cozy chair. From our Cloak & Dinner: The Time Machine, here's a little "how to" on the Ginger Figgle!

GINGER FIGGLE 

• 2oz Gin
• 1 oz fresh squeezed OJ
• 1 fresh fig (or 2 spoons fig jam)
• 2 slices fresh ginger root

Press the ginger root and add a sliced fig or 2 spoonfuls of fig jam and muddle. Add in the gin and orange juice and shake well. Strain and serve in a stemmed cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of fresh fig and/or orange spiral and candied ginger.

Muddled Meals: Aztec Chocolate Lava Cake

 As your spoon breaks through the sponge-y exterior of this delectable chocolate cake, and molten liquid fudge pours out, you find yourself enveloped in what can only be described as death by chocolate. Invented by chef extraordinaire Jean-Georges Vongerichten as an accident, the Molten Lava Cake has taken on many forms, but one thing remains constant, the oozing hot center for which it’s named.

For our most recent Cloak & Dinner: The Time Machine, I’ve taken the French classic that literally melts in your mouth and added a spicy twist to awaken your taste buds. Easy to prepare, these delicious treats are a surefire way to impress even the toughest dessert critic.

Aztec Chocolate Lava Cakes
Preparation Time: 15 minutes || Cooking Time: 10 minutes || Yield 4 servings
Ingredients

• 6 oz. Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
• 6 oz. Butter (Room Temperature & Diced)
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/3 cup Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
• Orange
• Powdered Sugar
• Butter for Ramekins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt the chocolate on a low flame in double boiler. (Or if you don’t have a double boiler, very carefully microwave the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until its liquid smooth.)
3. While your chocolate is melting, in another bowl beat together the eggs and sugar until it starts to whiten and foam up.
4. Take the melted chocolate off the heat and stir in the butter, cayenne, cinnamon and chili powder. Keep mixing until all of the butter is melted.
5. Mix the chocolate into the egg mixture, and then very quickly mix in the flour until it’s all incorporated.
6. Butter 4 individual ramekins and then pour in the chocolate batter.
7. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, then immediately tip the ramekins upside down onto a dessert plate.
8. Garnish with a dusting of powdered sugar and some orange zest to serve.

Tips & tricks

• You can prepare your Aztec Chocolate Lava Cake batter ahead of time and then simply toss your pre-made cakes into the oven 10 minutes before serving.
• Play with the cooking time, 10 minutes gives a nice cake exterior with a melted chocolate interior, but if you prefer more liquid cake then bake for a shorter time, or if you’d prefer a stiffer cake, add on a minute or two!

Ingredients

• 6 oz. Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
• 6 oz. Butter (Room Temperature & Diced)
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/3 cup Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
• Orange Zest
• Powdered Sugar
• Butter for Ramekins

Preheat your oven & melt your chocolate!

 Preheat oven to 350°F.
Melt the chocolate on a low flame in double boiler. (Or if you don’t have a double boiler, very carefully microwave the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until its liquid smooth.)


Crack your eggs & add the sugar.

While your chocolate is melting, in another bowl crack 3 eggs and add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.


Whisk it all together.

Vigorously beat together the eggs and sugar until it starts to whiten and foam up.


Take the chocolate off the heat.

Take the melted chocolate off the heat and place on the counter.


Add the spices.

Stir in the cayenne, cinnamon and chili powder to flavor the Aztec chocolate.


Melt the butter.

Add in the room temperature butter to the still hot chocolate. Keep mixing until all of the butter is melted.


Which came first, the chocolate or the egg?

Mix the melted chocolate & butter batter into the egg mixture.


Add in the flour!

Then, working quickly so there aren't any lumps, mix in the flour into the batter until it’s all incorporated.


Butter your ramekins!

Butter 4 individual ramekins and then pour in the chocolate batter.  (Or if you don't have ramekins, you can use lightly buttered silicon pinch bowls or cupcake molds.)


Bake your cakes.

Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, then immediately tip the ramekins upside down onto a dessert plate. 


Enjoy!

Garnish with a dusting of powdered sugar and some orange zest to serve.

Tips & tricks

• You can prepare your Aztec Chocolate Lava Cake batter ahead of time and then simply toss your pre-made cakes into the oven 10 minutes before serving.
• Play with the cooking time, 10 minutes gives a nice cake exterior with a melted chocolate interior, but if you prefer more liquid cake then bake for a shorter time, or if you’d prefer a stiffer cake, add on a minute or two!

Cloak & Dinner: The Time Machine || 9/24/11

This time around we thought, why not do a little time travel? What with the premieres of Boardwalk Empire, Pan Am and the Playboy Club right around the corner, this seemed perfectly fitting. 

There's no time like the present, but tonight we tastefully disagree. We've pondered over many a quaint and curious menu of forgotten food to discover the very best this past century had to offer. Cramming for this culinary history lesson has provided us ten decadent decades worth of tantalizing ideas, and we've selected our favorites from every era to create a meal worthy of Doc, Marty, Bill, and Ted. Sit back, relax, and strap your taste buds to their TARDIS because we're time travelling through the tasty twentieth ten years at a time. Let's see if you bastards can do ninety.

Having filtered through an arsenal of old menus, we selected our favorite representations of every era starting with the 1900's & worked our way up to the near future.

A few housekeeping notes.  If you'd like to be added to the mailing list for future C&D dinners, please email rsvp@cloakanddinner.com. and as always you can follow us on twitter @cloakanddinner.

Cloak & Dinner Presents

The Time Machine

The Progressive Era

“The Beginning of Trouble”

bread with fig, brie & thyme honey

The Golden Age

“Pisco Sour – Cocktail”

pisco, lemon, simple syrup, egg white, angostura

Roaring 20’s

“Blue Point Cocktail”

oyster cocktail

Prohibition

“Shine Gimlet”

moonshine, lime, simple syrup, cucumber, mint, celery bitters

G.I. Generation

“Tagliarini in Consommé with Crillion Special Combination”

 homemade pasta in beef consommé; haricots verts

Nifty 50’s

“Lavender French Seventy Five”

london dry gin, sugar, lemon, champagne, lavender

Swinging 60’s

“Kiss of Clouds”

scallops, cauliflower, apple, horseradish

Sexy 70’s

“Ko’aia Haia Kahiki, l’wi’ao’ao”

pineapple glazed spare ribs

Greedy 80’s

“Ginger Figgle aka Slow Screw”

gin, orange, fig, ginger root

Generation X

"Passionfruit Tequila & Grapefruit Sorbet with Cinnamon Dusted Tortilla's"

intermezzo palate cleanser

2020

“Cloak & Dinner Especial”

aztec chocolate lava, orange, cayenne milkshake with snow

And here are the menu inspirations...

Cocktail Roulette: Livin' the High Life

In another edition of our Cocktail Roulette, and yet again from our Rags to Riches dinner... here's the perfect Hipster Beverage, "Livin' the High Life."

Livin' the High Life

• 1oz Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
• 5oz Miller High Life
• 1/2oz fresh lemon juice

Combine over ice until chilled. funnel into chilled beer bottles in paper bags. 

Note that you will have a bunch of High Life left over after bottling up these oh so satisfying cocktails.  That's when you whip out the extra solo cups you have lying around and initiate a game or two of flip cup!

Muddled Meals: The Duck Confit & Orange Marmalade "Cinnabon" Roll

At our most recent Cloak & Dinner: Rags to Riches, we cobbled together an eclectic menu full of what we'll lovingly call "college" food and classed it up a bit with smoked this, pate that, bacon wrapped bison.  7 courses & 4 cocktails later, we unveiled our "surprise guest" a take-home "Cinnabon" morning roll so our guests could continue the party well into the morning (although from hearing reviews post-dinner, I'm guessing most of those rolls didn't quite make it to the next day...)

But since these were Cinnabon's gon rags to riches, we of course added our own little twist... a heavy helping of Duck Confit & Orange Marmalade!  Because, why not?  One of my hero duo's in the culinary world are the extremely talented Aki & Alex of Ideas in Food, a collection of inspired ideas, photos & videos of their adventures & experiments.  I look to them for little clues as to how to make everything I make even better & when I saw them post photos of their insanely delicious breakfast, I knew I had to try it myself. 

And boy did these turn out well... So well in fact, that I feel compelled to share my take on their idea here!

The Duck Confit & Orange Marmalade "Cinnabon" Roll
prep 2 days + 2 hours || bake 30-40 minutes || yields 3 dozen

• 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tbl instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tbl kosher salt
• 4 lg eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup mashed Duck Rillets
• 1 jar of Orange Marmalade
• 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2-3 fresh oranges
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp water

First, mix up a batch of simple brioche.  The trick here is to prep it 2-3 days ahead of time so it has loads of time to rise in the fridge.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, honey, melted butter, yeast & salt.  Once your starter is nice & mixed, slowly add in the flour.  Get your hands in there & work it in, making sure not to leave any tiny dry bits.  It's pretty overwhelming mixing in 7 cups of flour, but the end is totally worth it!  Cover it up and stick it in the refrigerator at the very least overnight, but give it a few days to really set up.

When you're ready to make the rolls... first thing's first.  Take the dough out of the fridge, divide it into thirds.  Take the first batch, flour your board & rolling pin & shape the dough into a large ball with no air pockets.  Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Roll out the dough into the largest square (or oval if you can't quite get the square right) as possible.  You'll know your dough is ready if it doesn't keep springing back into a smaller state.  Make sure that you keep your board well floured so the dough won't stick.  Once it's rolled out, evenly spread your duck confit on top.  Then spoon out 1/3 of your Orange Marmalade making sure to cover the entire area.  Brush with melted butter & sprinkle with sugar.

Then, very carefully, start rolling it up.  Make sure to keep it tight as you're rolling.  Once you have a log, flour a serrated knife & cut the roll into 12 pieces.  Place your rolls into a greased pan, cover with a towel & let it rise for another 1-2 hours. (Yes I know there's a lot of waiting around, but really, it's worth it!)

Preheat your oven to 350F & then bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the tops are nice & browned.  While your rolls are baking, mix up a simple glaze with the powdered sugar & water.  Zest the oranges & set aside.

When your rolls come out nice & hot, drizzle on some "icing" dust with orange zest & a sprinkle with a little cinnamon!  Enjoy!

Cocktail Roulette: The Shiny Moon

Insomuch that we're creating a whole dinner from the ground up for a "One Night Only" event, we thought it'd be nice to share a few of our favorite recipes & cocktails from time to time. So here you go... Cocktail Roulette and Muddled Meals.

From our Rags to Riches dinner - here's the Shiny Moon!

• 1 oz. HUDSON NEW YORK CORN WHISKEY
• 2 oz. fresh apple cider
• 0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 0.25 oz. cherry infused brandy (optional)
• 2 drops Fee Brothers Orange Bitters

Shake over ice and strain into a coupe. Garnish with the peel of a kumquat.

Cloak & Dinner: The Time Machine Invite

ÜBER MORLOCK

We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories... And those that carry us forward, are dreams. 

There's no time like the present, but tonight we tastefully disagree. We've pondered over many a quaint and curious menu of forgotten food to discover the very best this past century had to offer. Cramming for this culinary history lesson has provided us ten decadent decades worth of tantalizing ideas, and we've selected our favorites from every era to create a meal worthy of Doc, Marty, Bill, and Ted. Sit back, relax, and strap your taste buds to their TARDIS because we're time travelling through the tasty twentieth ten years at a time. Let's see if you bastards can do ninety.

~ nicole iizuka | sean brogan | isaac zucca ~

Please join us for the 6th Cloak & Dinner supper club. Details below.

10 Seats || 7 Courses + 4 Cocktail Pairings

$60

Saturday September 24th

6pm

Location will be given out once you have a confirmed spot.

Please visit our event on Gusta to enter the lottery & if you're picked (by Random.org) to attend I will email you further payment instructions by Tuesday September 20th.  You will then have until Thursday September 22nd to pay otherwise your spot will be given away.

https://www.gusta.com/events/51-cloak-dinner-the-time-machine

** if you have any food allergies, let us know. will do our best to accommodate.**

A few other nit-picky notes

please plan to be on-time and for the dinner to last from 3-4 hours

there will be 3-4 paired cocktails, but you are more than welcome to BYO, beer, wine, soda

this dinner will be on a rooftop, so dress appropriately for sundown

Previous Dinners + Photos

Any Colour You Like || 5/30/11

Rookie Blunders || 6/11/11

E Pluribus uNOM || 7/3/11

A Day in the Life || 7/23/11
Rags to Riches || 8/13/11

Any other questions, please check out our FAQ on our website.

Cloak & Dinner: Rags to Riches || 8/13/11

Having recently moved offices (like the big move... building to building) I totally forgot to do my little write-up / photo log of our latest & greatest. So here it is, Cloak & Dinner: Rags to Riches!

It doesn't take a Swiss bank account and a majority share of Microsoft to appreciate a tasty meal, and you'd be remiss to find a foie gras eating, souffle spooning, champagne sipping trillionaire who doesn't long for the simple days of Slim Jims, Twinkies, and Kool-Aid. Be it in dorm or double-wide, school lunch or stadium, we've all come to adore the bounty of salt, sugar, and cellophane that is America's vast extra value menu. Tonight, we've raised the bar on low-brow, bleached the blue collar, and taken classless cuisine to culinary school. Savor the sweet taste of success as some of our favorite down-and-out delicacies finally get a piece of the pie.

This was perhaps our most successful dinner yet... everything running smoothly and (for the most part) on time, thanks to the newest addition to the happy little family, our Captain Matt Portman!  It's always nice to have helpful friends & extra hands :-).  C&D will be taking a mini-break, Labor Day - Vacay whatnot, but follow us on twiter @cloakanddinner to get the scoop on our next invite expected mid-late September!

Also, if you'd like to be added to the mailing list for future C&D dinners, please email rsvp@cloakanddinner.com.

the table is set, the day is gorgeous, we're ready to go!

bread & water || stuffed baguette & cucumber acqua frizzante
this came out quite beautifully, a delicately stuffed baguette with a decadent array of Mediterranean goodies, chilled & then sliced into edible bites. 

~ shiny moon ~
hudson new york corn whiskey, apple cider, lemon, fee brothers orange bitters

fish sticks || sesame encrusted ahi tuna with mango wasabi tartar saucego figure, i scour all the asian markets and find nothing suitable, but lo & behold the awesome pavillions on santa monica had the freshest ahi.

p&bj || truffle mousse pate & blackberry jam
a little polarizing, this is definitely a dish for those who enjoy a heavy helping of pate.  i for one definitely enjoyed the balance of meat & sweet.

~ livin’ the high life ~
domaine de canton ginger liqueur, miller high life, lemon

chef Boyardee || smoked salmon lasagna
this came out freaking amazing.  and we put it in a bed of spicy dill mustard sauce & topped with goat cheese & heirloom tomatoes.  

~ lemonade stand ~
gin, cucumber, lemon, simple syrup.  mason jar.
 

danger dogs || bacon wrapped bison with onions, garlic aioli & curry ketchup
no words can describe.  the lean bison paired with the fatty bacon did wonders to the palate & who doesn't love a nice splattering of garlic anything?

fla-vor-ice || lemon mint granita
let's just call it what it is.  pennsylvania water-ice.  pronounced watah. a super fragrant lemon mint granita on top of a creamy mint soft serve.

~ homemade horchata ~
horchata, rum. made from scratch.

gruel || arroz con leche
topped with what else, disco dust!  who doesn't love eating gold?

cinnabon || duck confit brioche rolls
and finally, the surprise guest of the evening... a take home cinnabon for those midnight munchies.

you can read all about it here: http://www.cakeandheels.com/2011/08/suprise-cloak-dinner-guest-duck-confit.html