PETER CALLAHAN
of Callahan Catering and PCK Catering
Appetizer
A medley of morel, enoki, and shiitake mushrooms perched on crisp shiitakes, set on a toadstool
First Course
Fatty tuna and seared salmon tower with tomato, avocado, and bok choy flowers
Alternate First Course (vegetarian):
Butternut-squash gnocchi topped with shaved Piave vecchio
Second Course
Crispy plum-glazed breast of pheasant stuffed with chile blackberries; confit of pheasant on sweet potato; celery root and caramelized-fennel purée; Brussels sprout leaves, golden beets, and roasted brandy chestnuts
Dessert
Individual croquembouche
Specialty Drink
Nantucket Red, a freshly squeezed cranberry fig-tini
1. “Most people have never tasted freshly squeezed cranberry juice. It’s delicious— not like anything you’ve had out of a jar.”
2. “The butternut squash has a great sweetness next to the sharp, salty cheese.”
3. “Having an individual dessert with a showstopper look is really fun.”
4.“The seared salmon is kept medium-rare and stacked with layers of tomato and avocado, then topped with the fatty tuna. The bok choy flowers are really pretty and have a great zip to them.”
5.“Pheasant has a special feel, and here it is offered two ways— the breast and the confit. The purée and the loose fall vegetables add some color, and roasted chestnuts bring texture.”
6.“The shiitake has been dried, so it’s a little crisp, and then on top are all these delicious sautéed wild mushrooms laced with fresh herbs. The woodsy flavor evokes fall and winter.”
MARCO MORILLO and DEBBIE LYN-MORILLO
of Crave Catering and Events
Appetizer
Smoked sable fish with Asian pear, avocado purée, olive salt, and ciabatta chip
First Course
Kabocha squash soup with whipped apple cider and powdered Spanish olive oil
Second Course
Seared frogs’ legs with sunchoke purée, asparagus, enoki mushrooms, and sunflower-seed croquant
Third Course
Ancho chile–powdered Long Island duck breast in a blueberry froth, with Asian vegetables and date purée
Dessert
Warm apple with hot whiskey gelée and spiced whipped cream
Wine Pairing
2007 Banfi Brachetto d’Acqui Rosa Regale
1. “We make our own apple cider, then burn cinnamon sticks and whip that into a froth. The local kabocha squash has a lot of nice nutmeg flavor, and the powdered olive oil adds another dimension.”
2.“This ties together the whole menu: the progression of squash to date to apple. And the sparkling wine balances well with the whiskey.”
3. “Sable is refreshing and not too heavy. The olive salt—we use fleur de sel and dehydrated olives to make it—adds texture.”
4.“Local frogs’ legs are dredged in a bit of flour and ancho chile, then seared so they’re very tender on the inside. The sunchoke is cooked with vanilla bean and almond milk.”
5.“The date purée has a smooth texture and complements the fattiness of the duck; the blueberry froth’s a little sweet, but it balances the slight bitterness of the vegetables.”
MARY CLEAVER
of the Cleaver Co.
Appetizer
Butternut squash samosas with cardamom yogurt
First Course
Antipasto:
Grass-fed Woodlands Pork fall harvest ham; house-pickled vegetables; grissini
First Course
Plated:
House-cured wild Alaskan salmon, with apple and pink-peppercorn relish and homemade buckwheat crackers
Second Course
Braised short ribs with fried parsnip curls, creamy grits, roasted winter vegetables (turnips, carrots, cippolini onions), and blue-corn madeleines
Wine Pairing
2006 Shinn Estate Vineyard “Wild Boar Doe” Mattituck, Long Island
Dessert
Chocolate rosemary pot de crème with Hudson Valley whipped cream and almond tuile
Wine Pairing
2001 Bonny Doon Viognier Port Paso Robles, California
1. “You have pork, pickles, and breadsticks for a kind of shared antipasto. I think it’s great at weddings to use your food as a centerpiece.”
2.“Buckwheat crackers are a tasty counterpoint to the sweetness of the relish and the fattiness of the fish.”
3. “A classic rich chocolate dessert.”
4.“The ribs are braised until the meat is just falling off the bone; parsnip curls give a little crisp and decoration.”
5.“The squash is the vegetable of the moment in winter, and warm spices and cardamom give it a bit of an Indian flair.”