Wednesday's Prix Fixe

Last night's prix-fixe menu featured a first course that Kevin has been working on for some time.  Duck Scrapple.  I know, I know, that sounds really appetizing, especially for dinner, but you know what?  It was delicious, especially if you like scrapple to begin with.  And it tasted just like what it was - duck scrapple: scrapple made with duck meat instead of pork.  It had the right seasonings, the right texture, the crispy-on-the-outside thing.  He served it on a spinach salad with a roasted garlic vinaigrette.  It will be on the lunch special list this week, in much the same way, but with the addition of a fried egg on top!

Scrapple made from duck looks like...scrapple!  How did he make it?  He actually devised a real recipe for it, even wrote it down on paper - what a concept!  Here's the process:

The cornmeal and duck are cooked stovetop in a large stockpot.

He cooks it until he deems it "stiff" enough.

From there it goes into loaf pans to set up.

It cooks up just like "real" scrapple, with the taste of the duck very clearly coming through the sage and cornmeal background.  Kevin has made crab scrapple before, to some success, but this I think is a real winner.  It was much appreciated by the crowd last night, including several diners for whom it was their first introduction to any kind of scrapple...talk about trust!

 Meatloaf followed the scrapple on the menu last night - and we realized that we were basically offering two "meatloaf" courses, in a sense.  Or I suppose we could say "pate" courses?  Anyway, the meatloaf baked in square pans, because the loaf pans were tied up with the scrapple. 

It came with a blanket of caramelize onions.  The dessert strayed away from the theme - it was angel food cake with strawberry sauce.  Once again, the Wednesday night prix-fixe was a great opportunity for our customers to try something new without a whole lot of financial risk - and  maybe find a whole new food group opening up for their dining pleasure.

Scrapple - it's not just for breakfast anymore!