Archive for December, 2007

The menu consisted of:

• Prosciutto with Lemon Sorbet
• Lemon Risotto
• Prime Ribs with Meyer Lemon Fries
• Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

I neglected to get photographs of the first two courses! (The risotto was awesome!)

The opening course was a MessyChef recipe: take a piece of parma ham, wrap it in grated parmesan cheese, EVOO, and black cracked pepper. Top with lemon sorbet.

The risotto comes from Nigella Lawson. She calls it the ultimate comfort food, and I agree.

The beef recipe was based on that presented by Tyler Florence on the TV Food Network special, regarding holiday meals. A horseradish/garlic paste is put on top of the roast.

The dessert is courtesy of Emeril Legasse. I spiked mine with lemoncello for even more lemon flavor, and made up a vanilla caramel sauce. The chocolate truffle recipe, is below:

• Combination 50%/50% of two Scharffen-Berger chocolates (62% vs. 70%)
• Meyer Lemon Zest
• Cayenne Pepper
• pinch Fleur-de-Sel
• Boiling Heavy Cream

Rough-chop your chocolate in a glass, heat-proof bowl. Combine the chocolate with just enough cream to “wet” the bowl. It will melt the chocolate. Stir until completely melted.

Add the zest, sea salt, and copious amounts of cayenne pepper (to taste). Cool in the freezer for a few minutes, stirring constantly (3-4 times). When set, it still will be malleable, but not solid. Form into balls, and coat in Dutch-process cocoa (I like Droste brand).

Set in the freezer over night, serve at room temperature.

I recently had the opportunity to dine “southside” at Emilio’s, a Spanish restaurant in Midlothian. I rarely get to eat anything Spanish, unless it seems, I’m out of town or on vacation. Emilio’s was a nice surprise, and offers entrées, appetizers, and tapas.

I opted for a selection of tapas, including calamari, sliced serrano ham, garlic shrimp, and Spanish-style sausage.

The ham seemed out of place by itself; over something like a small square of bread (or even cheese) would have been better. Its taste was more pronounced than that of prosciutto di parma, but was all around pretty good. It’s sliced thicker, and I could imagine it is a nice compliment to a sherry at around 6-7 PM in the balmy Spanish evening.

But this was dinner, and we had more than just ham.

Likely more a favorite were the garlic shrimp and the garlicky mayonnaise potatoes.

After dinner, I was wisked-off to the Desserterie, the so-called premier dessert shop in all of greater-Richmond. Well, that’s what it says on the sign.

They have cookies, gelato, and various miniature cakes and pastries. I thought the portion sizes for the cakes, etc., were a tad small. Appropriate, perhaps, but still, if I’ve committed to a dessert, give me Dessert with a capital “D.”

Pictured below, their chocolate-espresso cake:

All in all, combining top-quality desserts with a tasty sampling of Spanish-inspired foods made for an enjoyable night of feasting. The Desserterie has a beautiful interior, and they supposedly make excellent wedding cakes to your exacting specifications. My only beef with them were the portion sizes: perhaps venturing out with a few generous selections would ease my conscience.

For Emilio’s, I’d likely go back. The entrées that came to the table were in sensible portions that everyone could finish, with a variety of chicken dishes being the more typical type of protein available. For a Saturday night, my visit ended with a good live musician (voice/guitar, sounded like Paul Simon) and the shock of an auto-generated 20% gratuity. Yeah, for a 4-top, this isn’t necessary. I don’t like places that tack-on a gratuity, but just be warned. Make your own decision.

My rating and price are based on Emilio’s alone.