Carey Bringle
In the past I’ve told you about the JBF Kitchen Cam, which is actually a website with three different views of the kitchen at the famous James Beard House in New York City. If you’ve never taken a peek behind the scenes in a working kitchen, and don’t count watching Hell’s Kitchen on Fox, it’s worth clicking on sometime to see the delicate dance that is a dinner service being prepared by trained professionals.
But rarely will it be more entertaining to watch than tonight, Dec. 15, when Nashville’s own Peg Leg Porker Carey Bringle will be making a return appearance to the Beard Kitchen. I watched for a bit the last time Bringle visited the Beard House, and his interaction with the local staff was always amusing and often hilarious. Tonight he’ll be joined in the kitchen by two of his friends from Memphis, Beard-nominated chefs Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Hog & Hominy, Catherine & Mary’s, Porcellino's Craft Butcher and Josephine Estelle in the Ace Hotel in New Orleans.
Together the team will present a dinner they are calling “Tender Tennessee Christmas.” No wait, that’s a syrupy Amy Grant song. They’ll be preparing a “Tennessee Holiday Table” dinner for lucky patrons who snatched up tickets in advance to dine at the Beard House. Check out this ambitious menu (with beverage pairings):
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Hors d’Oeuvres
Ramacche > Peg Leg Porker Ham–Caciocavallo Cheese Fritters
Socca with Chickpeas, Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola
Pimento Cheese Straws
Pork Rinds with Peg Leg Porker Dry Seasoning
Carpenè Malvolti Prosecco Extra Dry NV
Dinner
Brussels Sprouts Cacio e Pepe with Burnt Ends, Chicken Skins and Calabrian Honey
Paul Buisse Touraine 2015
Pecorino Sformato with Smoked Springer Mountain Farms Chicken Thighs, Carrots, Celery Sofrito and Giblets
Weingut Lagler Grüner Veltliner Burgberg 2014
Casonsei with Potatoes, Robiola Cheese, Catfish Brandade and Cornbread Panna Grata
Le Vigne di Zamo Colli Orientali del Friuli Friulano 2014
Porchetta with Cannellini Beans, Greens and Gremolata
Cooper Mountain Vineyards Reserve Pinot Noir 2013
Dessert
Fried Bananas Foster Pie with Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon and Caramel
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The Tennessee Holiday Table dinner starts at 6 p.m. Central, so tune in here if you want to watch.
It turns out that Bringle isn’t the only Nashvillian cooking at the Beard House this month, but I didn’t hear about our other luminary until after it had already happened. Chef Andy Hayes, currently running the kitchen at the hot new Barcelona Wine Bar, recently joined other members of his restaurant group to cook a dinner titled “Southern Spain Celebration.” Hayes contributed a dish of Rabbit Valenciana with Butter Beans, Crispy Rice and Snails that maybe we’ll be lucky enough to see sometime on his menu here. If you want to take a look at the archive from Chef Hayes’ webcam, click here.
