Construction Update III

Here we are. Ah, the schweet schmell of progress. Can't stop the train now that structural inspections are completed and the next phase is here. Let's continue to hope for fair weather and no delays.

Over here to left is a picture of one of the founding fathers of our venture Mr. Gregg Petrakis. Look at him easily dismount this harrowing drop off. I have no doubt that he'll be able to handle the pressure of a sweltering, merciless and treacherous kitchen. He and I will head the brigade in the back of the RR. I'll try and supply photos of our other benefactor and front-of-the house crew when they let the guard down in the coming days. The Candid Kitchen intends to show all the behind the scenes folly of a restaurant opening.

We're going to be hosting a nice quaint gathering the first day of opening. So stay tuned for that date.

I bid you good day. KP

Sexy Food

Another week has gone by and while the restaurant construction is resuming from the recent building inspections and weather, I'm continuing the process of thinking about the style and direction of the food. I'd hate to be associated or even cast with or as one particular genre. So I've decided that I'll put a few twists on dishes that are comforting, regional, and draw from my background.

I'm displaying this picture of a small app dish that I did a while back that might be something to expand on with the new place.

Cumin Oil Poached Colossal Shrimp with Crab Cake, Pickled Green Tomato, Cumin-Cilantro Beurre Blanc.

Cumin Oil
real easy to make

4 TB of Cumin
2 cups of good olive oil

>in a medium size saute pan add the ground cumin and turn on the range to around a medium heat. Flip the cumin in regular intervals to make sure that you have even toasting and so it doesn't burn. I would say that you'd want to do this for around 10 minutes or so. You will get a extremely fragrant and vibrantly colored product if you continue to flip in regular intervals.
>remove the cumin from the heat and add the olive oil to the pan with the cumin, put the pan back on the flame or range but turn the heat down to low.
>using a thermometer, monitor the heat of the oil and cumin mixture until it reaches 300 degrees...(you'll of course need to make sure that you get a true reading by angling the thermometer to where it measures the oil and not the bottom of the pan)
>kill the flame or turn off the range and let the oil/cumin mixture steep for at least 5 to 6 hours. The longer you let it go. The more rich the flavor and vibrant the color. You could let it go for a whole day if you wanted.
>to finish, find yourself a squirt bottle(like a ketchup bottle or the like) and a funnel that fits into the opening on the neck of the bottle. Put the funnel in and place a coffee filter inside the funnel. Slowly pour the oil mixture until it all completely passes through the filter. A little bit at a time.

If you store the oil out of direct sunlight and in a cool place, you should be a be able to keep it for up to a month. You go much longer and it might get a little rancid on you. Use it to garnish grilled steak or use to it poach stuff like shrimp in.

I should note that if you are going to do the latter you'll need to control the temperature in order to make sure that the shrimp doesn't fry when you place it in the oil. Maintaining a temperature of around 250 degrees will take care of that. It will cook nice and steady and be extremely tender. You also will create a much lower smoke point for the oil by making it a compound/flavored oil so be careful you don't want a fire on your hands.

I've got the recipe in this old post if you want to know the beurre blanc method.

Red Room Menu Sample

I've included a few pictures of some of the items we'll be offering at the Red Room. The pictures are not of the highest quality due to my shoddy camera work after 4 Stellas. On the left we have our Simple Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Reduction....and on the right our Spicy Cornmeal Pan-Fried Green Tomatoes with Avocado Remoulade. Hope to see you soon.

Another update from 6/17

Here are the new pictures taken 6/17. There really isn't really a whole lot of discernible differences. I believe the weather this week held them up just a touch combined with waiting on the City of Largo inspector to ok this work and proceed with the next phase. I was informed that weather permitting they'll really be able to make some head way next week. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I did include a early picture from around four weeks ago. See if you can guess which one it is.

Red Room Progress II

These are the latest pictures of the project taken on 6/11/08. The building is starting to take shape. I found out this week that barring any unforeseen setbacks we should be open the first week in August.

This week we sent the menu off to the company that designed the logo...which you see above. So the menus are in the process of being created. There are other preparations that are either pending or in process....building inspections, financing, beer draft system(which is going to be top of the line), A/V, POS systems(restaurant order system), etc., etc.

I must finish putting together the small ware and dish/glass orders so that they are received in time for the opening but not so soon we have to transport them from some other location.

Red Room update

Construction is moving along at a steady pace. The opening window is narrowing to the first or second week in August. I would expect that by the second or third week of July we will start the hiring process and start receiving our operating equipment.

If you find yourself in Largo, FL. ....cruise by the Walmart just north of East Bay on Missouri. You can see for yourself.

Flat Screen HD LCD 1080i TVs on all the walls. This WILL be your football head quarters.