Once again, it's all about who you know!! Or in this case- who you are related to! Once again I got to enjoy the fun and excitement of culinary competition as a spectator, not a frazzled contestant, at the most recent installment of Culinary Fight Night, Des Moines. How? Well, let me explain. See.....I have told you guys before about my younger daughter, Laurie- the restaurant general manager. As is often the case when you know someone "in the scene" she would often invite me to different food events and a couple years ago she invited me to a Culinary Fight Night, the first of it's kind in Des Moines. You can get all the details by clicking HERE, but briefly- boxing rink, two chefs, six course, loads of great food, one winner. This time around, she is not only in the scene, her chef is one of the competitors, and she is helping in the kitchen! Talk about exciting! Since Laurie would be in the kitchen for this event, my other daughter Debbee joined me for this fun evening of sampling some of the best dishes Des Moines has to offer. Laurie's restaurant, Magnolia Wine Kitchen, was represented by their very own Chef Nico Ebtinger.
Chef Nico comes to Magnolia Wine Kitchen with a pretty impressive resume. Before joining Magnolia as a chef he was the executive chef at Prime Land and Sea in West Des Moines, the sous chef at Pricci and chef de partie at Cherokee Town and Country Club, and cooked at Bistro Nikki in Atlanta, GA. He attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta. Chef Hailey Dixon is the chef at the new West Des Moines brunch spot, Eggs and Jam Brunch Cafe. The restaurant boasts a fun hp hp theme and creative dishes with clever names such as Slim Shady, Flava Flav Flatbread, Rumpshaker, and Ludabiscuits. It's brand new on the culinary scene and lots of people are talking about it.
Of course, I would be a terrible mother if I didn't boast about my daughter, Laurie. She, as you know, is the general manager of Magnolia Wine Kitchen, the fantastic downtown restaurant and wine bar that provides the total girlie dining experience and even lets you bring the guys if you must. The restaurant is gorgeous, the menu very chick-centric. Beautiful ingredients and interesting combinations dominate the menu. Charcuterie and cheese plates are all the rage and Magnolia features some wonderful selections. The salad combinations are some of the most creative I have seen in years, the lobster roll- oh man, HUGE chunks of lobster, and the dinner menu is just stunning. Anyway, Chef Nico is in the ring and Laurie is supporting him in the kitchen, prepping foods, preparing sauces, and plating the courses. Laurie made the lemon picatta sauce for the salmon entree and it was heavenly- you better believe she is going to be teaching Mom how to make that sauce at home!
Now, let's get down to business- the fight and the food. The appetizer round always starts off the event and this time we sampled two dishes that were somewhat similar in flavor, but totally different presentations. Chef Nico prepared a beautiful panzanella salad with big chunks of chewy focaccia, lovely baby lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, bright red sweet pepper, cucumbers finished with a cherry vinaigrette and balsamic. The salad was a gorgeous plate. The colors of the vegetables were so vibrant, tip top freshness, and not overly dressed. The cubes of bread were dense and chewy, not like rock hard croutons, and were perfect for sopping up that delicious sweet and tangy vinaigrette.
Chef Hailey's appetizer was a favorite at our table, and a quick glance around the room, was a favorite of most people. She featured charred baby tomatoes, with the perfect kiss of flame and just perfect char marks, not enough to cook the tomatoes, just enough to give that hint of charred flavor, nestled alongside a scoop of creamy burrata, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic syrup. Perfectly crispy croustades alongside made this the perfect bite- a little smear of the cheese, a chunk of tomato, and that crispy crunchy toasted baguette. So delicious. My daughter Debbee has never had burrata before- she was sold! This was a very delicious and creative take on caprese salad and something I'd love to eat every day.
In between the courses our host and organizer of the event, Walt Henderson, brought members of the audience up to the ring for some fun and games and prizes. He held a blind tasting, a Name The Celebrity Chef, and Identify the Herb contests, and drew for cash and gift card too.
The entree round was even better. This time the chefs went in very opposite directions. Chef Hailey created a Pistachio and Ricotta Raviolo, with Sauteed Shrimp, Golden Raisins and Brown Butter Cream Sauce. For me, Hailey won in creativity but fell down a little bit in execution. The flavors were fantastic. This dish was a textural masterpiece. The creamy ricotta filling was peppered with bits of crunchy pistachio and herbs. More pistachios adorned the top along with the surprise of golden raisins and sauteed shrimp, with a healthy drizzle of the browned butter sauce. The filling was delicious. It was not sweet, definitely savory, and the pistachios added a much needed texture. The pasta was a little too thick in spots, especially the edges, so it wasn't evenly cooked, and had some tougher spots. The butter sauce and raisins were an interesting addition but the shrimp seemed out of place. They were simply sauteed- nothing more, and perched atop the raviolo with a little garnish of micro greens. Stunning presentation though.
Everyone who knows me knows I HATE salmon. Hate it. Detest it. Except for raw in sushi, to me salmon looks, smells and tastes like cat food. Gross. I dreaded the salmon entree but Chef Nico totally changed my opinion with his entree- Roasted Faroe Island Salmon with jasmine rice, Haricot Verts and Lemon Caper Picatta. Was it the roasting that made the difference? Was it the type of salmon? I don't know what, or why, but I was in love at first bite. The salmon was perfectly cooked, flaky and tender. The haricots verts were roasted and some of them had crispy ends and those little touches make me so happy. The jasmine rice could have been a little more elevated but it was absolutely delicious, and my tablemates raved about it. I just could not get over that salmon! Nor could I put my fork down! We were served a very generous portion and we were getting full but I could not stop!!! Yes, it was THAT good. I really want to talk about the lemon sauce. It was phenomenal. Creamy and lemony and sprinkled with capers it was the perfect accent for that gorgeous piece of fish, and for dragging a forkful of rice through. Amazing, and so simple- nothing but freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Lots of butter. You can bet I'll be getting this chef's secret recipe and making this at home.
In spite of all that salmon and me being unable to stop eating it, we had to save room for dessert. Chef Nico's dessert, Bourbon Apple Crepe Flambe with Jack Daniels Chantilly Cream and Honeycrisp Apple Compote was the ultimate autumn dessert. The apple compote was amazing. The apples were bathed in bourbon, you could taste it without any icky boozy taste- just the woody warm bourbon and a kiss of honey. The chantilly cream again, the essence of Jack Daniels but not a whiff of harsh boozy edge. But that crepe though! It was thin and light and perfectly cooked, just perfect. I have made more than my fair share of crepes and this one was flawless.
Chef Hailey present us with a crispy Lemon Shortbread cookie with White Chocolate Mousse and Blueberry Compote. Everyone at our table raved about the mousse. It was very good. Not perfect, but very good considering it was made for a crowd. Kudos to Chef Hailey for that. The blueberry compote was a much needed touch but not truly special. Could have been kicked up with some limoncello or Gran Marnier or something. The lemon shortbread was delicious and lemony and buttery. The ladies at our table went crazy over the cookie. Hailey's dessert was good but it didn't have the wow factor for me or Debbee like Chef Nico's did.
The judges completed their scoring, the audience filled out their People's Choice ballots and the winner...... by the tiniest of margins....... was Chef Hailey. Our host Walt presented her with the Culinary Fight Night Championship belt as the crowd cheered. It was a great food fight, and we, the audience, got the real prize- all those delicious courses. The food fighting doesn't end here. November will host another round of courses with two different chefs, and the two winners, Chef Hailey and whoever wins the next bout will compete in the third Culinary Food Fight for a grand prize. I am looking forward to these events- and you should too. Keep watching my blog and social media for a chance to grab your tickets!!
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