Crossroads Carolina

Hail to the chef-Part the second

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The newly renovated dining room at the Crossroads Chapel Hill.

When you sit down at your table at the Crossroads Chapel Hill restaurant at the Carolina Inn, a member of the wait staff will bring you the ubiquitous bread product and something to smear upon it.

And right away, you’ll recognize that this is no run-of-the-mill fancy greasy spoon.

This place has personality.

And this is where I celebrated my birthday.  The opening salvo of the meal to come is delivered by our warm and attentive waiter, Zuber.  He brings us a white vessel lined with parchment paper.  Nestled within is the Crossroads’ take on bread and butter.

Maestra Chef Sara Thomas

The baker of this bounty, pastry chef Sara Thomas at the Crossroads Chapel Hill, is the sweet counterpoint to executive chef James Clark in skill and imagination.

I first met Chef Sara at the reception welcoming Chef Clark to the inn.  She’d filled a table with cookies, truffles, French macarons, coconut macaroons, tarts, and various dainties.  But towering over the entire sugar-scape was the architectural achievement of a gravity-defying chocolate showpiece.

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Oh yeah, that’s the chocolatey stuff.

She’s in charge of the culinary first impression at the restaurant and her answer to this responsibility are black pepper biscuits; a pastry that truly threatens to make you ignore the admonition “Don’t fill up on the bread!”.  One of these days I’m going to do just that.

Here is the recipe, directly from the files of the Crossroads Chapel Hill.

Carolina Inn Black Pepper Biscuits

black pepper biscuits

AP Flour –2 cups                     

Baking Powder –1tablespoon                         

Black Pepper–2 teaspoons roughly ground peppercorns                

Kosher Salt –1 teaspoon                     

Sugar – 1 teaspoon                  

Cold Butter –3.6 ounces                      

_______

Greek Yogurt –¾ cup              

Buttermilk –4 tablespoons                               

_________

Optional:

optional

Fresh Garlic – 2 cloves

Green Onions –4 stalks- about ¼ cup

Cheddar Cheese -½ cup

  1. Mix AP flour, baking powder, black pepper, sugar, and kosher salt together in a large bowl
  2. Cut in the cold butter
  3. Add buttermilk and yogurt, mix until the dough comes together
  4. Turn dough onto a well- floured surface and knead gently. Add flour as needed in small amounts until dough is no longer sticky
  5. Roll out the dough to 1” thick, cutting biscuit dough with a squares or rounds biscuit cutter
  6. Bake @ 350’F for about 15 minutes in the convection oven

They’re served with a disk of butter—and if desired, the waiter will hold a wooden wand over the dairy, drizzling honey onto it.

But because you are in the hands of Chef James and staff, this is no ordinary honey.  Oh no, this is honey made by the hotel’s own bees.  It’s collected and bottled in nearby Chatham County.

Bee keeper Marty Hanks and the Carolina Inn bees.

In addition to its use in the kitchen they also sell it in the Carolina Inn gift shop and at Pittsboro Street Provisions.

Chefs James and Sara ended this incredible dinner with the kind of desserts you’re lucky to enjoy once in a lifetime.  We were presented with eight of these works of art.

Chef Sara deeply understands chocolate.  Her trio uses product from French Broad Chocolates in Ashville (my very favorite; pot de crème & crushed peanut brittle), Videri Chocolate Factory in Raleigh (chocolate marquise, raspberry & Chambord), Escazu Artisan Chocolates (chocolate mousse & flur de sel), also from Raleigh.

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Another chocolate gift from Chef Sara.

It was a magical evening.  But don’t take my word for it.  Take a look at the menu posted on their website.  It’s as good a read as most New York Time’s bestsellers.  And if you have a special occasion coming up, well…

Thanks for your time.

 

 

Sweet Dreams

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Did you ever have one of those dreams where you’re in a bakery or candy store surrounded by treats?  And you can’t decide what you’re gonna start with?  And right before you take the first bite you wake up?

Yeah, that happened to me.  I was sitting at a table in Chapel Hill, looking down at eight different gorgeous sweet treats.  Only this time, nobody was shaking me awake to take out the dog, or catch the school bus, or get ready for work.

I was awake and got to partake.

But before I take a bite, I should probably go back to the very beginning.

Chef James Clark is executive chef of the Crossroads Restaurant in the beautiful and historic Carolina Inn on the campus of UNC.  I met him right after he started there.  I can truthfully say that his friendship is one of the best things to have come from writing this column.

He has three main characteristics that make him particularly well-suited to his position.

1.) He is a nurturing host.  It all boils down to his desire to take care of people.  He observes his staff and guests with a paternal eye.  He desires to bring the best out of his employees by teaching and encouraging, rather than shaming and berating.  Toward every hotel and restaurant guest, he strives to exceed all of their desires and fulfill wishes they didn’t even know they possessed.

I have never left his kingdom without being full of delicious food, and delighted by the way that he can always add one more element to my time there that is both a complete surprise to me and just the right thing to make a visit unforgettably special; it’s Chef James’ modus operandi

Image result for chef james clark

Madison Clark, and dad James.

2.) He is a good old Southern boy.  With all his heart he loves the food and culture of the South.  Chef reveres the creativity and skill of the generations before him.  He honors their history by getting the very best local ingredients, manipulating them with talent and a sense of history, and coaxing out the very best of each component.

3.) The man’s a world-class, classically trained chef.  Once you’ve learned and studied all the rules, then if you have the expertise and imagination you can play with them.  And Chef James has lots of fun in the kitchen.  He takes a common, old-fashioned recipe, elevates the ingredients and procedure, and turns out an homage to classic Southern fare.

But don’t confuse classic with stuffy.  Chef James may be a dignified executive chef, but from him, you’ll get absolutely no love for swank and pretense.

His take on Eastern NC bbq is a perfect example.  The plate comes with an old-school, pointy-topped vinegar bottle of sauce.  There’s pork, but a perfectly seared and juicy tenderloin.  The cole slaw is a bright yet sweet slaw of spiral cut veg.  Sous Chef Jonathon James’ take on cornbread is a delicious, sweet, zippy corn pudding.

Corn Poblano Pudding

corn puddingCorn Base:

1 Cup Fresh Corn                                                                                             

1 Cup Whole Milk                                                                                             

Caramelize corn in a hot medium sauté pan, deglaze milk reduce by a ¼. Blend on high until smooth but some of the texture of the corn remains

Pudding:

1 ½ Cup Corn base    

1 Poblano Pepper, roasted (charred skin and seeds removed, then diced)

8 Eggs

1 Cup Heavy Cream   

2 Tablespoons Chili Powder 

1 ½ Cups Cheddar Cheese (grated)  

¾ – 1 Cup Corn Muffin Mix (*Debbie here—I would go with something like Jiffy)                                                                                        

Salt & Pepper To Taste

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the cast iron vessel you are using to bake pudding in so it is hot when time to bake. Spray vessel well and bake approx.. 15 minutes. Top should bounce to the touch.

There just isn’t enough room in this piece to tell you all about Petey and Debbie’s excellent adventure.  So next week  I’ll write more tales of our night, including the world’s greatest pasta course, how I ate some of each seafood that arrived at our table, and what I did with all those desserts (and no, I didn’t leave Petey for all that sugary bounty—he’s sitting here right next to me).

 

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See?  He’s just fine.

Thanks for your time.

 

Hail to the chef

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In 1939, when King George VI and Queen Mary visited the US, President and Mrs. Roosevelt had a picnic for them at Hyde Park and served hot dogs.

People were shocked, but the king and queen loved it.

In 2016 when the pampered and privileged visit Chapel Hill’s Crossroads restaurant in the Carolina Inn, they can roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty and eat roasted peel & eat shrimp; covered with spice and served with green tomato cocktail and comeback sauces.

People are charmed, and everybody loves it.

The surroundings are beautiful and historic, the service is warm but faultless, and the ingredients are top quality and thoughtfully sourced.  But James Clark, executive chef of the Crossroads has no patience for fussy fine dining and the atmosphere it creates.

The Carolina Inn-I kind of expect the Tarleton twins to be lounging on that porch.

I’ve known Chef James since he was hired, about 3 ½ years ago.  When I heard about him, I was very interested in meeting him.  He’s from Elizabeth City, as am I.  And, he attended culinary school at the New England Culinary Institute, in Vermont, which is The Kid’s alma mater.

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The Kid–trying to look demented and done up in NECI gear.

We ultimately met at a reception introducing him as executive chef.  True to Chef, he catered his own wing-ding.  Luckily for every guest in attendance, he catered his own wing-ding.  The first thing he ever fed me was a fluffy, buttery biscuit, and nestled within was a piece of perfectly slow-cooked and rendered pork belly (I stuck one in my pocket, and took it to Petey—who loved it).

Last week he invited Petey and me to the Carolina to celebrate my birthday and sample his new spring menu.  Instead of ordering, I asked the chef if he would choose for us.  Our palates and bellies would be in his talented, capable hands.

Chef divides his menu into “Sharing Plates”, “Small Plates”, and “Large Plates”.  Dishes were set in front of either Petey or me, but we shared everything.

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Clam frites.

The first course was clam frites and his peel & eat shrimp.   The clams were cooked in their own shell and flavored with bacon and fennel.  Also included was a big vessel of fresh-cut fries spiked with tangy yet mellow Carolina Bleu cheese. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, delicious, and messy fun.  They were served with a green tomato cocktail sauce which was developed by his Chef de Cuisine, Jonathan James.

It’s great for all sorts of things.

Green Tomato Cocktail Sauce

Green Tomato Ketchup Base:

green ketchup

4 Cups Green Tomatoes                                                                              

3 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce                                                                     

1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar                                                                          

3 Tablespoons Texas Pete                                                                                          

½ medium sized onion (julienned)                                                                                 

2 Tablespoons garlic (minced)                                                                                  

¼ cup brown Sugar                                                                                       

¼ cup granulated Sugar                                                                                        

2 tablespoons salt                                                                                                       

1 tablespoon pepper                                                                                                                            

½ cup water

Combine all ingredients in medium heavy bottomed pot, bring to a boil reduce to a simmer. Reduce in volume by half. Cool and blend on high until smooth. If the base is not bright you can add a drop or so of green food coloring to bring back the color.

Cocktail Sauce:

green cocktail

3 ½ cups Green Tomato Ketchup Base                                                            

¼-½ cup Horseradish, depending on taste

Juice from 1 lemon

5-8 dashes Texas Pete                                                                                            

Salt & Pepper to taste

Stir ingredients together.  Makes approximately 4 cups.  Store leftovers in the fridge, or place in zip-top bags and freeze flat.

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The peel & eat experience.

Space prohibits me from divulging more about our meal in this column.  But next week is the sequel with another delicious, do-able recipe from the kitchens of the Carolina Crossroads, and the minds of Chef James and his uber-talented staff.

Thanks for your time.