Nashville Kitchen Notebook
An in-depth look at some of our favorite dishes and cocktails from our time on the ground in Nashville.
photo: will blunt
SOUTHERN BREAKFAST ICE CREAM
Whenever her family got together, Claire Crowell’s grandmother would make a full southern breakfast spread, complete with hot biscuits, fresh local jams, and sorghum syrup. That fond memory inspired the Salt and Pepper Biscuit Sorghum ice cream at Crowell’s ice cream concept, Hattie Jane’s Creamery. “Anything can be an ice cream,” says Crowell. “I’m looking at what’s locally available, whether it's produce or whiskey. We want to stay within the southern flavor profile.” She starts by blending locally grown and pressed Green Door Gourmet sorghum into their vanilla ice cream base. “The flavor to me is so nuanced and complicated. It has a roasty sweetness which is lighter than molasses.” The buttery, Cracker Barrel-like biscuits, bursting with black pepper, are made by Hattie Jane’s bakery team and then layered into the ice cream in large chunks. “The pepper adds balance. You get bitter, spice, salt, and of course, the sweetness from the sorghum,” says Crowell, “It hits all four corners.”
SQUASH MOLASSES
Like a magician with a card up his sleeve, Butcher & Bee Chef Chris deJesus waits for just the right moment to use the more obscure ingredients in his pantry. Take the sticky-sweet molasses he made from last summer’s watermelon—when a shipment of plump butterkin squash came in, deJesus finally made use of the molasses by glazing it over the steamed and seared butterkin. But when the four quarts of watermelon molasses ran out, a case of over-sized candy roaster squash saved the day. deJesus swapped watermelon out for candy roasters and followed the same formula—simmering the strained juice until it reduces by 75 percent, then mixing it with raw honey. The now-earthy, slightly bitter, orange glaze reinforces the butterkin’s natural sweetness and umami (recipe on page 86). To provide contrast to the squash’s tender texture, he garnishes with rose petal za’atar and a crunchy, savory granola made from Anson Mills oats and benne seeds, sunflower seeds, red quinoa, butter, and house-made lacto-fermented hot honey from Strange Honey Farm—a Butcher & Bee pantry staple. “People can try to come into your restaurant and replicate your food items or something you have on the menu,” says deJesus. “But they can’t replicate what’s in your pantry.”
Full Recipe: Butterkin Squash, Squash Molasses, Savory Granola, Rose Za’atar, and Chervil
photo: will blunt
photo: Mike Finocchiaro
FALLING THROUGH A FIELD
For Bartender Natalie Newberry, every cocktail is an opportunity to tell a story. So when building the menu for The Rabbit Hole, the multi-course tasting experience at Midtown’s Henley, she goes all in on elaborate drinks. The Falling Through A Field harkens back to the summer afternoons she spent as a child helping her parents in their vegetable garden (recipe on page 86). “I loved harvesting green beans,” she says. “I was small enough to run through them and it was one of my favorite things.” She turns the vegetable into a sippable beverage by muddling it in Castle & Key gin to heighten the garden-fresh botanicals with delicate floral notes. The green gin is then combined with lemon, simple syrup, Pineau des Charentes, and a couple dashes of absinthe. Light and aromatic, the cocktail gets poured into a terrarium-like bowl surrounded by moss and fresh flowers. But arguably, the real star of the show is the layered ice cube made from green bean purée, lemon, simple syrup, and salt, amplifying the drink’s vegetal notes as the cube melts. “The cocktail presents itself as it dilutes. Funky and weird but refreshing and delicious for a hot summer day.”
SCALLOP NIMBU SAAN
“Imagine saying no to listening to The Beatles just because you heard Hoobastank one time and didn't like it.” This is Chef Vivek Surti’s mentality when it comes to people telling him that they don’t eat Indian food. At TAILOR, a weekly pop-up at The Nashville Food Project (and soon to reopen as a brick and mortar), Surti hopes to share the diverse range of Indian cuisine, true to his memories growing up as a first-generation American. His raw Maine scallop course for instance, is inspired by nimbu saan, a yogurt-based dish from Uttarakhand, India, traditionally served with citrus, garlic, coriander, and roasted hemp seeds. Surti deconstructs it, placing raw scallops on a pool of tangy yogurt, topped with a seasonal citrus salad. The entire plate is seasoned with a relish made from roasted hemp seeds, cilantro, and garlic, and garnished with a touch of house-made Thai chile sauce and dots of an electric green limdi, or curry leaf oil. Anchored in Indian flavors and techniques while highlighting American-sourced ingredients, the scallop nimbu saan is a delightful analog to Surti’s “first-generation style.”
photo: will blunt
photo: will blunt
JAMMY DODGER BISCUITS
When Irish-born Chef Trevor Moran visited Japan for the first time, he fell head over heels for one dish in particular: kakigōri. The shaved ice dessert became his new obsession, which turned into a series of Nashville pop-ups celebrating this refreshing treat. Now at Locust, his brick-and-mortar restaurant, Moran fuses his love of kakigōri with a nostalgic snack from his homeland—jammy dodger biscuits. To mimic the berry-jam-filled shortbread, Moran layers paper thin, almost aerated shaved ice into a deep bowl, then fills and tops it with a breakfast tea mousse. Once the “tea” is ready, Moran sifts tart dehydrated raspberry powder on top of the soufflé-like structure. He serves the shaved ice with a squeeze bottle of shortbread sauce—all of the buttery, lushness of a crunchy biscuit in liquid form. Guests are instructed to take a spoonful of kakigōri, then squeeze the sauce into the heart of the dessert, softening the ice just as a dip into hot tea can soften a cookie.
A HIT OF HOPS
As Bill Hader says in the opening scene of Pineapple Express, “[Item 9] is the Bee’s Knees!”And for Bartender Paul Morrison at The Thompson Hotel’s rooftop bar, L.A. Jackson, it certainly is… in more ways than one. When developing a new cocktail for the menu, the Item 9 (named after the strain of marijuana) was born from two of his most beloved interests: Cocktails and cannabis. “I’ve always been a big supporter of the cannabis industry,” he says. To target the flavors and aromas of pungently fruity and bitter weed, he first looked to beer. “Every time I’ve had a hoppy IPA, I’ve gotten that tannic, danky flavor.” He reached for a Nashville favorite, Bearded Iris Brewing’s Homestyle IPA, and paired it with clean, bright Fords Gin to incorporate complementary botanicals. Inspired by the gin-lemon-honey combination of a Bee’s Knees, Morrison infuses honey with Mosaic hops to double down on flavors of evergreen and wheat. He then conjures the spirit of a Corpse Reviver No. 2 with the addition of dry Curaçao and Lillet Blanc. Shaken and topped with the IPA, all of the elements come together in a refreshingly tart and bitter sip that offers all the high without the haze.
photo: will blunt
