While working for Chef Kierin Baldwin at The Dutch in New York, I was introduced to her brilliant creation; a hot yeasty brioche donut rolled in a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and curry! It was the best dessert I had ever tasted. She served them on the brunch menu by themselves, as well as on her dessert menu, paired with butterscotch pudding and cashew brittle. It was a perfect combination.

So once I was developing my own dessert menus, I knew this tasty obsession had to make an appearance. My first version debuted on my menu at Shorebreak Lodge last summer, paired with salted caramel and pickled strawberry jam.

The tang of the jam and the salty sweetness from the caramel were the perfect foil for the curry and cinnamon.
I later did a Palm fruit variation where the dough had banana, dates and coconut mixed in. I also tried them out with another of my favorite flavor combos- peanut butter & old bay! This version was rolled in old bay sugar and served with warm peanut butter sauce. It may sound out of the box, but trust me, it works!

When I started at Blue Moon last fall, I was excited to bring the curry sugar donut with me, and I quickly put it on the brunch menu. It went over well, so it was time for more donut experimenting!

Both for Christmas Eve Dinner and New Years Day brunch I served a version topped with peanut butter fluff and pickled strawberry jam.

With the new year came new ideas. On our brunch menu I started offering both a salted caramel dipped donut and a vanilla bourbon glazed donut dipped in raw sugar.

In February, I had the privilege of eating at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, and sampled some of Chef Hedy Goldsmith’s amazing desserts. This included her Buttermilk Donuts served with a lemon cream-sickle pot de creme and fresh ricotta. This was another life changing dessert for me. The combo of a hot fluffy chewy donut with the silky smooth tang of the lemon and the creamy saltiness of the ricotta was nothing short of perfect. It also reminded me of Chef Kierin’s combo of hot donut with creamy pudding.

With new inspiration, I created this brunch entree:

Buttermilk & Brioche Donuts served with a blood orange-citrus pot de creme and fresh ricotta with dried blueberry compote.

Soon after, for Liz’s Asian Tasting Tuesday menu I came up with this:

Black Sesame Brioche Donuts with lemon pot de creme and strawberry tahini cheesecake cream. It also paid homage to another of my favorite flavor combos, strawberry and sesame, which I was introduced to while working at Momofuku Milk Bar.

Since then, the buttermilk donuts with elderflower citrus pot de creme and toasted almonds, has made regular appearances on our tasting Tuesday menu.

My donut obsession has always revolved around the fluffy yeasty variety but I have recently ventured into the world of cake donuts. Currently on my dessert menu-

Rosemary Buttermilk Cake Donuts with a Honey Grapefruit Glaze, citrus-elderflower pot de creme, mascarpone, and candied cashews.

The sky is the limit when it comes to me and donuts. Next up, something chocolate! We will see what I come up with . . .

Yesterday, instead of tasting wines, we tasted a bunch of different coffees from Amy at Lewes’ Notting Hill Roastery. We are going to be offering tableside french press coffee soon and wanted to find the perfect coffee and roast. Amy graciously spent time with me in her shop on 2nd Street explaining different coffees and the roasting process. I left buzzing with caffeine and with my arms full of samples. The tasting experience was a lot like wine tasting where the region and growing practices influence the taste significantly. We can’t wait for our customers to try the winning coffee!

Fifer asparagus:

Morel mushrooms:

English peas (we shelled them just before the picture):

Ramps:

I haven’t been quite as active on the blog lately, but I have been posting pictures and updates on Instagram. You can follow the posts by searching for my user name, liongardner.

I have the very difficult task of trying new wines almost every day in the spring. We recently brought on these beauties from Robert Sinskey. Lion and I visited their vineyard last fall and were blown away. Not only are they pioneers in biodynamic and organic in California but their kitchen has a full time chef who uses the produce from their winery’s garden to create delicious morsels to enjoy while tasting their wines.
We are so fortunate to offer their Abraxus, a gorgeously luscious white blend, the Vin Gris, a delicate pure Rose of Pinot Noir, and the POV, a bold earthy Bordeaux blend. The artistry of their wines doesn’t end in the bottle. Rob takes the photos that make up the labels for the POV-three photos per vintage. Maria creates the recipes and sends them along with spectacular photos of their vineyards and garden with each of their newsletters.
I’m so excited about these wines and how deliciously they pair with our spring menu. Cheers!

Banana Blondie Sundae
Bananas Foster, Vanilla Bourbon Gelato, Almond Brittle, Salted Caramel

Pink Grapefruit Cake
Blood Orange Caramel, Black Pepper Honey Comb, Passionfruit Gelato

Ricotta Mascarpone Cheesecake
Port Cherry Compote, Macadamia Biscotti, Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato

Chocolate Tower
Valrhona Chocolate Cake, ‘Oreo’ Cream, Cookie Crumbs, Coffee Coconut Sorbet

This one started on the menu as a Vday special and was too popular to take off!

We introduced a few new dishes and brought back a few others that were successes on past menus. Some of the new ones include the black carrot-cardamom soup with goat crouton, pine nuts and wildflower honey:

Speck wrapped baby lettuces with roasted peppers, olives, manchego and herb vinaigrette. An aged balsamic drizzle finished the plate.

For this dish we made corned beef brisket, which is simple to do and yields great results. It can easily be done at home. We brined the meat for about three days and cooked it at a low temperature for around 12 hours. The plate is a seared scallop over corned beef hash.

We had some fun with this one: braised berkshire pork cheek “McNuggets” with three dipping sauces, ginger BBQ, spicy mustard and gribiche. I know. Classy.

Swedish meatballs made with duck. I like to make this dish when the weather is cold. I’m hoping we won’t feel the need to make it again for a while now that Spring is officially here. Port wine-cherry reduction, celery root purée.

champagne tasting

Who wouldn’t like being welcomed to a party with a champagne & caviar tasting? Two of my favorite things in one place! This one was for a small birthday celebration that we catered last fall. I’m obsessed with this Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve. We brought it onto the list last year and everyone loves it. It is full and rich with a nice minerality.

Three kinds of caviar and all of the accoutrements

A Bahn mi sandwich made with house charcuterie (chicken liver pâté, mortadella and porchetta di testa), pickled vegetables and cilantro. I love this sandwich. Meg and I got the best one I have ever had this past January while on vacation in Hawaii. It was from a little place in Honolulu’s Chinatown that also sold shirts and dresses.

A Korean BBQ flavored braised Berkshire pork bao bun (like a stuffed steam bun…amazing!) with kim chi slaw and a crispy fried poached egg. Here it is again

A crispy chicken skin salad with soft herbs, bitter greens and lemon-caper dressing. That’s all The time I have for now!

Spring is in the air and that means it is wedding and event planning season for me. Here is a fun cocktail hour idea that i’ve been incorporating into events. In addition to a wine tasting, have a local beer tasting table. We took Dogfish Head beer tap handles and some chalkboard contact paper and created a display. Guests loved having the opportunity to try so many different brews!