The Bluff Spring/Summer 2023 – Summer Soiree

Matt and Regan Marshall completed their home in late 2019. full-time residents of Vienna, Virginia, the Marshalls and their two daughters, Corbin and Emerson, use their house at Palmetto Bluff as a holiday getaway, an escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In the summer months, their trips stretch to weeks at a time. On this breezy summer evening, Regan’s parents, Jim and Bonnie, are in town for a visit and the Palmetto Bluff Club’s executive chef Rhy Waddington cooks a dinner to remember.

South Carolina Shrimp, Compressed Melon, Mint, Olive Oil Salad

Serves: 6

Ingredients

24 16/20 shrimp poached

1 cantaloupe 

1-oz pc of ginger

1-oz pc of turmeric 

2 Tbsp honey

¼ cup rice wine vinegar 

1/3 cup EVOO

½ cup picked mint leaves 

Instructions:

Peel and seed cantaloupe, then slice half and dice the other half. Juice the diced cantaloupe pieces with the ginger, turmeric, honey, and rice vinegar. Add half the juice to a vacuum-pack bag with the cantaloupe slices and 4 mint leaves, then vacuum on the highest setting. This can be done up to two days prior to serving.

Mix the remaining juice with the olive oil to create a vinaigrette.

Place the melon slices on a white platter, top with the poached shrimp, dress the cantaloupe and shrimp with the vinaigrette, and garnish with mint and sea salt.

 

Carolina Ham, Fava Beans, Peas, Charlotte Burrata, Mint, Dehydrated Olives

Serves 6

Ingredients

12 slices Cheshire ham (you can substitute prosciutto)

3 pcs Charlotte burrata 

½ cup cooked English peas 

½ cup cooked fava beans 

½ cup thinly sliced shallots

½ cup picked mint leaves 

½ cup EVOO

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup dehydrated olives

Instructions:

Dehydrated Olives

Place kalamata olives in the oven overnight on low or in a dehydrator.

To Plate

Mix the English peas, fava beans, shallots, and mint leaves, then dress with lemon juice and olive oil. Place the Cheshire ham on a white platter and spoon the pea and fava mix on to the platter and top with sliced burrata. Dress with sea salt and olive oil and garnish with diced dehydrated olives. 

 

Skillet Roasted B-Liner Snapper, Sungold Tomatoes, Nuoc Cham, Garden Herbs, Toasted Benne 

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 5-oz pcs b-Liner snapper

1 pint Sungold tomatoes

½ cup picked mint

½ cup picked cilantro

½ cup sliced scallions

½ cup of nuoc cham

1/8 cup toasted sesame seeds

Sea salt and white pepper

2 limes, halved

Nuoc cham

Nuoc Cham Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp fish sauce

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp chili garlic sauce

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

½ cup water

Instructions:

Nuoc Cham

1. Combine the garlic, fish sauce, lime juice, chili garlic sauce, sugar, and water in a small bowl. Mix well.Taste some of the sauce to ensure it’s seasoned to your liking. See notes below on adjusting the sauce flavor.

Notes

1. How to adjust the flavor of the sauce so it’s right for you. If the sauce tastes too sour, add more sugar. If the sauce is too sweet, add more lime juice. If the fish sauce flavor is too strong, add more water. Omit the red garlic sauce if you don’t want a spicy sauce.
2. How do you store nuoc cham? Store this sauce in an airtight container for up to a month in the refrigerator.
3. Substitutions
   1. The chili garlic sauce makes the sauce a little spicy. This can be substituted with Thai red chilis. Keep in mind that Thai chilis are a lot spicier than the chili garlic sauce, so be careful how many you add. But, you can add as many as you want!
   2. Some variations of this sauce use white vinegar instead of lime juice. This gives the sauce a different but still yummy flavor. Substitute 1 Tbsp of white vinegar for every 2 Tbsps of lime juice. But as mentioned above, add according to how sour you like your sauce.
   3. Another substitution for lime juice is lemon juice.

Snapper

Season the snapper with salt and white pepper. Heat a pan with oil and add the snapper skin side down, then place in a 375℉ oven for 8 minutes. 

Add the tomatoes, mint, cilantro, and scallions to a bowl and dress with the nuoc cham suace. Place the tomatoes on a platter, top with the snapper, add the lime halves and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

 

Flame-Grilled Prime Tomahawk Steak, Sweet Corn and Poblano Salsa, Roasted Farm Eggplant, Summer Greens

Ingredients

1 32-oz bone-in prime rib eye

Rosemary sea salt

4 sprigs rosemary 

2 eggplant

2 poblano peppers

2 ears corn 

2 cloves roasted garlic

1 small red onion, diced

½ cup olive oil

½ cup basil leaves 

½ cup cilantro

¼ cup red wine vinegar 

12 oz Vertical Roots mixed greens

Instructions:

Roasted Eggplant

Score the eggplant and season with salt, pepper, olive oil, and rosemary and grill cut-side down until golden brown. Place in the oven or on the top shelf of the grill at 350℉ for 25 minutes.

Sweet Corn and Poblano Salsa

Roast the poblano peppers and then peel off the outer skin. Chargrill the corn. Once cooled, slice off the kernels into a bowl. Add in the diced red onion, poblano peppers, roasted garlic, basil, cilantro, and oil and vinegar, then season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

Rib Eye

Set grill on 400℉. Season the steak with rosemary salt and cracked pepper, then place the steak on the grill and char each side for 5 minutes. Close the grill and cook to an internal temperature of 115℉. Let rest for 10–15 minutes.

To Plate

Carve the rib eye and serve on a large platter, accompanied with charred eggplant, poblano salsa, and finish with sea salt.

 

Coconut Panna Cotta, Shane’s Sugar Cane Syrup, Poached Georgia Peaches 

Panna Cotta Ingredients

8 gelatin sheets, bloomed

1 ⅓ cups heavy cream

⅝ cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped

1 ½ cups coconut milk

Panna Cotta Instructions

Bloom the gelatin sheets in ice water for approximately 8 minutes,then remove from water and drain excess water.Heat heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla bean until boiling, then remove from heat.Add the bloomed gelatin to the heated milk mixture and stir to dissolve. Add coconut milk and stir to combine.

Strain the panna cotta mix and portion into dishes.

Place the dishes in the refrigerator and allow to set for at least 12 hours.

Poached Peaches Ingredients

4 cups peaches, peeled and diced

2 cups brown sugar

1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

2 cups water

¼ cup brandy

Poached Peaches Instructions

Bring the brown sugar, ginger, water, and brandy to boil, then turn down to a simmer and add the peaches.Simmer the peaches until slightly tender, 5–7 minutes, then allow to cool. Reserve the poaching liquid.Discard all ginger pieces.

To Plate: Place the poached peaches atop the panna cotta. Pour cane syrup over the peaches. Decorate with torn mint pieces.

 

South Carolina Blueberry, Lemon, and Thyme Bundt Cake

Thyme Sugar Ingredients

2 cups sugar

30 thyme sprigs, remove the leaves and discard the stalk

Thyme Sugar Instructions

Process sugar and thyme in a food processor. Set aside until ready to use.

Bundt Cake Ingredients

2 ½ cups butter

5 pieces lemon zest

3 cups thyme sugar (above)

¼ cup salt

2 Tbsp baking powder

3 cups cake flour

2 ¼ Tbsp vanilla extract

12 eggs

1 ⅜ cups lemon juice

2 cups blueberries

Bundt Cake Instructions

Cream butter, lemon zest, and sugar in a large bowl.Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl (salt through flour).

Add eggs to the butter mixture and cream until well combined. Next, alternate adding dry ingredients and lemon juice until mixed. Fold in blueberries.Bake at 325°F for 60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Lemon Glaze

4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup lemon juice

Mix ingredients until combined, then set aside until ready to use.

To Plate

Drizzle the lemon glaze over the cake, top with blueberries and slices of lemons. Slice the Bundt cake according to the lines on the cake (you should have a big line and a small line per slice). Place a slice of cake in the middle of a plate and a scoop of ice cream beside it. Serve immediately.