Marinated Kobe Beef Tataki with Red Onion, Ponzu and Hijiki by executive
chef Damon Gordon at The Ivy Hotel’s Quarter Kitchen downtown

Behind The Scenes
Adding and refining recipes is no laughing matter. Chefs begin their day spending countless hours at fresh farms and specialty markets poking and prodding for the perfect vegetable or cut of meat. Some even climb ladders reaching for that perfect orange, or fish off the Sea of Cortez for the freshest catch of the day. After careful transport to their kitchen, ingredients are whisked, stirred, or rubbed in a tireless effort to create an unsurpassed signature dish that will overwhelm the palate. But really, there is so much more than meets the eye when it comes to creating a meal that will meet the standard of being superb. Here, a few stunning downtown restaurants share their ingeniously fashioned edibles.
— Maria Desiderata Montana, photography by Vincent Knakal

OCTOBER RECIPES

Marinated Kobe Beef Tataki with Red Onion, Ponzu and Hijiki by executive chef
Damon Gordon at The Ivy Hotel’s Quarter Kitchen downtown

Ingredients:
3 oz. Kobe beef
1/2 red onion finely sliced
2 oz. dried hijiki seaweed (available at Japanese markets)
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup yuzu (Japanese citrus)
1 spoon of diluted corn starch to thicken
picked cilantro

Preparation:
Lightly sear the Kobe beef on all sides.
Finely slice the onions and rehydrate the hijiki seaweed in water.
Next, make the ponzu by combining the soy sauce, yuzu, and diluted corn starch.
Slice the Kobe beef and marinate it in the ponzu with the red onions and hijiki for 10 minutes.
Arrange the sliced beef on a plate and top with the red onion and seaweed.
Spoon around the ponzu and garnish with picked cilantro.

Filetto al Mirtillo (Hand-Carved Filet Mignon topped with a Blueberry Sauce)
by chef Martin Gonzalez at Acqua al 2 downtown

Ingredients:
8 oz. filet mignon
1 oz. blueberry marmalade
6-8 oz. cherry wine
1 tsp. cream
1 tsp. butter
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
flour

Preparation: In a small frying pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Coat the filet mignon in some flour and place it in the pan to seal the steak, cooking until the meat is light brown in color (or at the desired temperature).

Heat another frying pan over medium-high heat. Transfer the filet to the pan and add the cherry wine until the alcohol evaporates (approximately 2-3 minutes). Then add the blueberry marmalade, salt, and pepper to taste. When the sauce starts to reduce, add the cream, mix well, and wait for the sauce to thicken to a desired consistency (approximately 30-60 seconds).

Plate the filet and cover with the blueberry sauce. Serve warm.

Buon Appetito!

Colorado Rack of Lamb by executive chef Fabrice Hardel
at The Westgate Hotel downtown

Ingredients:
2 Colorado racks of lamb
Fleur de Sel sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste
Mosto olive oil
1 tbsp. fennel pollen
2 oz. white wine
10 oz. lamb stock
1 oz. butter
fresh rosemary
1 bunch lavender

1 lb. Maui onion
1 tbsp. grated garlic
1 heirloom tomato
1 green zucchini
4 baby eggplant
fresh thyme

2 oz. polenta
8 oz. chicken stock
3 oz. mascarpone
1 oz. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. black truffle oil

4 zucchini blossoms
4 oz. Humboldt Fog goat cheese
1 egg yolk
1 oz. panko breadcrumbs

Preparation for the bayaldi vegetables: Peel the onions and julienne them. Cook them over low heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and the grated garlic for 1 hour until you have a nice dry onion jam. Season the onion jam to taste and put it in the cooler.
Cut the zucchini and the baby eggplant with a mandolin in thin slices and sear them in olive oil and the fresh thyme in a nonstick pan until they are almost cooked. Then season the vegetables and put them on a paper towel.
Cut the heirloom tomato into 8 thin slices.

Preparation for the rack of lamb: Preheat oven to 380 degrees. Cut the rack of lamb into 4 similar pieces. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and sear it in a hot pan with olive oil for 3 minutes and add the fresh rosemary. Put the pan with the lamb in the oven and cook it for 12 minutes on medium. Take the meat out, distribute the fennel pollen on the lamb, and cover it with aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then put the white wine in the hot pan, reduce until it is almost gone, and fill it up with brown lamb stock. Reduce to approximately 3 oz., take it aside, and stir the cold butter inside until you have a nice lamb jus.

Pesce Alle Erbe Aromatiche by chef de cuisine Colin MacLaggan
at Avenue 5 Restaurant & Bar downtown

Ingredients:
3 lb. tuna belly

Ingredients for the marinade:
10 leaves mint
10 leaves basil
30 sprigs parsley
10 leaves sage
1 tsp. rosemary
4 tbsp, capers
1 tbsp. oregano
1 red onion
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
11/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Preparation: Sear the tuna well with salt and cracked pepper.
Combine all marinade ingredients in food processor minus vinegar, juice, and oil to make a rough paste. Combine with liquids and pour over fish for 1 hour.

For the lemon thyme vinaigrette:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
11/2 cup oil blend
1/2 minced red onion
1/4 cup picked thyme
salt and pepper

combine all