James Beard menu served at Vail’s Sweet Basil Restaurant
A bit of James Beard and New York came to Vail recently when Beard's menu from a celebration dinner at his New York restaurant was recreated by Sweet Basil's Chef Bruce Yim.
The talented Vail chef recently hosted a dinner in New York as part of the "Great Regional Chefs of America" dinner. To celebrate the honor bestowed upon Chef Yim and Sweet Basil, the Vail restaurant served the same James Beard menu to guests at a special dinner party.
From many fancy appetizers and salads to the grand finale of honey lavender cake with delectable cream/wine sauce, it was a grand evening of fine food served on elegant plate presentation and vin
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A bit of James Beard and New York came to Vail recently when Beard's menu from a celebration dinner at his New York restaurant was recreated by Sweet Basil's Chef Bruce Yim.
The talented Vail chef recently hosted a dinner in New York as part of the "Great Regional Chefs of America" dinner. To celebrate the honor bestowed upon Chef Yim and Sweet Basil, the Vail restaurant served the same James Beard menu to guests at a special dinner party.
From many fancy appetizers and salads to the grand finale of honey lavender cake with delectable cream/wine sauce, it was a grand evening of fine food served on elegant plate presentation and vintage wines poured with each course at a great restaurant.
I particularly applauded the warm lobster salad with fresh sweet corn blini, roast stuffed pheasant and Colorado lamb chops with a upright potato filled with rich cream sauce. All guests were given recipes from the gala dinner. Here’s one for the roast pheasant with a rice stuffing recipe from Yim’s grandmother.
ROAST STUFFED PHEASANT WITH WATERCRESS AND GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE
4 4-oz pheasant breasts
4 sheets spring roll wrappers
4 oz shitake mushroom, diced
1/2 diced yellow onion
6 strips bacon, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 T chopped fresh ginger
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 c. soy sauce
2 T oil
RICE FILLING
¼ c. jasmine, long grain rice
½ c. sweet short grain rice
1 ¾ c. water
Rinse rices together, add water and steam in rice cooker.
Preheat large sauté pan; add oil, mushrooms, bacon, onion, garlic and ginger. Sauté until golden brown, then set aside to cool. When rice is cooked, place in the mixing bowl and add shitake mixture. Add soy sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool. Place a small amount of rice on a seasoned pheasant breast; wrap each breast with a spring roll wrapped that is brushed with a little beaten egg to seal the edge. Then brush each wrap with melted butter and place on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
P 2 – Sweet Basil’s Beard dinner
SAUCE
2 T. green peppercorns
4 sliced shallots
2 c. brandy
1 c. condensed milk
3 c. veal demi sauce
In a 2 qt. saucepan, place green peppercorn, shallots and brandy over high heat. Reduce the brandy by ¾. Add condensed milk and reduce by ¼. Add demi sauce and reduce by ¼. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and season. Please the pheasant on a bed of lightly sautéed watercress. Spoon the sauce around the pheasant.
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