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| Photo: Christopher Shane |
Hosted by Richmond's own Chef Jason Alley, a.k.a. Star Chef Rising Star, a.k.a. Bon Appetit cover boy (his fried chicken and pot likker noodles, anyway) a.k.a. general lover of slaw dogs, Orange Julius and steamed Virginia blue crabs...
...this night of noshing and sipping is about celebrating what makes Virginia such an amazing dining destination. To assist in this endeavor, Alley has assembled a few of his closest friends, who just also happen to be some of the most groundbreaking and respected chefs in the industry, as in an Iron Chef contender who dares to go up against Bobby Flay to tackle chum salmon (Note: she didn't win, and I personally blame this on Mr. Cranky Pants food critic, Jeffrey Steingarten, but that's another story), a James Beard Award winner (Best Chef Southeast) as well as fiesty Top Chef All-Star competitors, a Top Chef finalist, and a 2012 Best New Pastry Chef according to Food and Wine magazine.
So, what happens when each of these chefs creates their own special dish featuring locally sourced Virginia ingredients such as Rappahannock River Oysters, Border Springs Farm lamb, Leaping Water Farm chicken, Autumn Olives Farm pork, and Bearer Farms honey? Freaking magic, that's what. Toss in glasses of Barboursville wine, plenty of local brews, ciders and Cirrus vodka, and you've got yourself one heck of a party with the icing on the cake being that this entire hoo-ha benefits FeedMore Richmond, an umbrella organization made up of the Central Virginia Food Bank, Meals on Wheels and The Community Kitchen.
Not only will attendees have the opportunity to get up close and personal with certain chefs whose restaurants often book out a month or more in advance, but guests can walk away full and happy knowing that their hard-earned dollars (tickets are $150 per person all-inclusive) are helping support Virginia's local farms, producers, wineries, breweries as well as an organization dedicated to eliminating hunger in our area.
Here's the official line-up and where to purchase. FYI, last I heard there were less than 20 tickets left and time is running out to buy, so I suggest you move quickly. Buy your tickets here.
Saturday June 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Pasture
416 E Grace St
Richmond, VA 23219
©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
When my son was a little boy, I remember baking Funfetti Cupcakes for his classroom, because that was the cake mix he always chose. (That was, back in the day, when I used to buy cake mixes.) My favorite cake is white, as is my son's.
If I had to pick my favorite cookie, it would sugar cookies. When I read that this cookie recipe uses both vanilla and almond extract-- and I happened to have a collection of colored sprinkles on hand, I decided to 
These were super easy to make-- in fact, the batter was ready in less than 10 minutes.
Despite all the warnings about eating raw cookie dough, and raw eggs-- I have survived my 
For the first batch, I used an ice cream scoop to measure the cookie dough; that yielded 8 cookies.
The cookies were huge! We're talking the size of my hand, huge. 
For the second batch, I used a smaller scoop and it yielded 12 cookies.
I followed the recipes directions to bake them just until they turned golden brown.
They come out of the oven puffy, but quickly cool nice and flat-- and perfectly round.
I set aside the larger cookies, and I taste tested a smaller one.
..and I smiled, and moaned, and devoured the rest of the cookie with glee. This cookie brought out the child in me, with the colors and the flavor of white cake!
The large cookies became ice cream sandwiches, filled with a Buttermint Ice Cream that I made. I think traditional vanilla ice cream would do just fine. These cookies are so good, served warm. The next day, I figured out that 20 seconds in the microwave worked really well. 
I have a confession to make. It has to do with "stuffing". I'm specifically talking the kind of stuffing that we cram inside our Thanksgiving turkey. I've been told that I make delicious stuffing, but I wouldn't know. You see, I'm one of those Un-Americans who doesn't like stuffing.
Until, a couple weeks ago-- I saw a recipe for "Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts", on Mel's Kitchen. I looked at the bowl of apples that I keep stocked for lunches, and realized that apples would make a good pairing with chicken. I had chicken breasts, waiting to become dinner. Then it hit me-- I have lots of fresh French tarragon in our herb garden, and I decided this would compliment the chicken (parsley or sage would work, too). The next thing I knew, I grabbed some shallots, for extra flavor and I preheated the oven to 425F. 
I admit that any kind of measuring, flew out the window. I eyeballed about 1 cup of grated Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.
One peeled and sliced apple went into the bowl, and about one cup of breadcrumbs, and a little garlic salt.
After cutting a slit into the boneless chicken breast, I began to cram the stuffing in.
Then I pondered, how to keep all this stuffing from falling out...
..and I grabbed the kitchen twine and problem solved!
I much prefer to sear and roast my meats, whenever possible. This method has proved succesful for me, in that my meats remain moist. After seasoning each breast with coarse salt & pepper, I seared each chicken breast in a bit of olive oil, in an oven-proof skillet.
Then, I flipped them over and put them into a preheated 425F oven, for about 25 minutes (or until the chicken is at 160F).
I removed the chicken breasts, set them on a plate and loosely covered them with foil.
The pan sauce I made, turned out to be one of my best ones yet! I started by deglazing the pan with some apple cider, then I added a splash of white wine. This is Boiled Cider, and I buy it from King Arthur Flour. The boiled cider really brings out the flavor in apple pie, and I'm finding it works great in so many recipes. I added a "splash" (about 2 Tablespoons), and about 1 cup of chicken stock. Then, I let it reduce to about half-- about 7-8 minutes, on medium-high heat.
The pan sauce was truly one of my best-- the sweetness of the apple cider, and a splash of acidity from the white wine-- perfection!
TASTING NOTES: This is a stuffing I learned to love, at first bite. Melted cheese and apples is a terrific combination. The shallots and the mild anise flavor, of the tarragon, added a lovely savory element to the sauce. My husband loved this dinner, and I have to say that I did, too. The next time I make this, I think I'll butterfly the chicken so I can add a lot more stuffing, then roll it, and tie it with kitchen twine. These could easily be prepared in advance, and then cooked when company arrives. This recipe is a keeper. I promise you.
Who says that chicken gets boring? Not this way! I pretty much changed around the original recipe, but I still thank Mel's Kitchen for inspiring me to stuff chicken with apples and cheese--brilliant!