Summer continued at the Blue Apron on a hot a steamy night last weekend. It may have been a little sticky on the balcony, but inside it was cool and the food and wine were abundant. This was one of my favorite dinners to date for a few reasons… First: Brian prepared some excellent food that was really focused on simple balanced flavors. Second: We were joined by the incomparable Jessie Lytton helping out with the front of house. Third: Under the watchful guidance of our new beverage manager Nick Sharp, I got to pick the wines! Having just returned from 2+ weeks in Italy with Jessie (who just so happens to be my wife), this was a great opportunity for me to share some of wines we found.

The first food highlight of the night for me started with the canapé, particularly the pepper relish that Brian made. It was a mix of home-roasted red, yellow, and orange peppers chopped and marinated in vinegar for a perfect balance of sweet and tart. A spoonful on a slice of baguette was a perfect start to the meal. The first course served was a peach gazpacho. All I will say is this… I thought I hated gazpacho… I don’t anymore. It was light, cool, and refreshing. Just a tad bit sweet, with plenty of peach and cucumber flavor, and just a little bite from the onion. I also think this was the best pairing of the night as it went absolutely perfectly with the Pasanella & Figlio Bianco 2009 (pat on the back for me).

Next up was a salad of fennel and celery tossed with house-made truffle oil vinaigrette and served with diced beets and pluots. This was such a simple dish, but with very strong flavors that were perfectly balanced (we ate a big ole’ plate of this in the kitchen). After that, Brian served his ricotta gnocchi with caramelized onion, black olives, and a delightfully light and vinegary buerre blanc. This dish could have easily been too heavy, but the gnocchi were light, and the brightness of the burre blanc cut right through. Again, Brian really did a great job with balance, not only within each dish, but between courses as well. His use of plenty of crisp and refreshing flavors was very welcomed on such a sweltering summer day.

I won’t let this get too long, so I will just say that the rest of the meal went on in similar form. Check the menu page for all of the dishes and wines that were served. Also, a note on the wines… we often get asked about the availability of the wines we serve, and want to make sure its easy for our diners to find their favorites. To help facilitate this, details on many of them are posted at our partner site (run by yours truly and our beverage manager Nick) thevintageknows.com - check it out and feel free to contact us there or through the Blue Apron if you have any questions.

See you in August!

-Jeremy
Associate - The Blue Apron

The Blue Apron held its first official supper of the summer season on Saturday, June 26th. The menu featured some of the best seasonal ingredients our farmers markets had to offer and pairings by the incomparable mixologist Michael Cecconi. If you haven’t experienced Michael’s cocktails (at Back Forty or Savoy in NYC where he was formerly bar manager), we feel bad for you. Joining Brian and Michael, with the tough job of keeping things moving while all of those cocktails were consumed, was our good friend William Henry. William has been a jack of all trades with The Blue Apron, doing wine pairings on some nights, and running the front of house on others.  Sadly, both William and Michael are heading West (possibly in search of gold) and they will both be sorely missed (though we hope they come back soon).

The night started out on the balcony with some hors’d’oeuvres, fresh radishes with homemade parsley butter and sea salt and a house made pate, and Micahel’s refreshing cucumber gin and tonic. First up at the table for the amuse, a beautiful squash blossom stuffed with apricots, bread crumbs, and goat cheese. This was one of my favorite dishes of the night, striking presentation with a balanced and delicate flavor. This was followed by Michael’s East/West 75, a ginger-infused gin and pilsner cocktail that was incredible. I said this to him myself and I think it’s worth repeating… I could drink this cocktail every day for the rest of my life. This was paired with our first full course, a deconstructed “Zucchini Lasagna” served with a parmesan crisp. Again a very simple and balanced dish. Brian did a great job of building the flavors up as the dinner progressed.

Other highlights of the evening included the Onion “Salad” which could have been overwhelming, but was actually quite subtle. The onions were prepared in a way that took all of the typical onion “offense” away and drew out their sweetness and unique flavors. The Lemon Risotto marked the point in the meal where the flavor palate began to move away from subtle in into more bold territory; though, the strong flavors of lemon and asparagus were still perfectly balanced. The Chicken Ballantine was also excellent, cooked in Brian’s makeshift sous-vide machine machine to a perfectly moist and tender consistency. This was paired with “the drink that will conquer the world”, The Back Forty - a perfect balance of our good friend George Dickel Tennessee Whisky, maple, and lemon. This is what a cocktail should be… If you’ve never had one, go get one! (they still make them at Back Forty in Michael’s absence).

On to all things sweet. Brian’s sorbet course for this dinner included Blueberry/Goat Cheese, Red Bell Pepper, and Kiwifruit. They were all great, but I have to take a moment to discuss the Red Bell Pepper, which really surprised me. The sweetness dominated, but you still got the full flavor of the pepper. The full effect was really light and refreshing. I particularly enjoyed it alongside the tartness of the kiwifruit, a nice balance and unique flavor when tasted together. The desert course was excellent as always, the pinnacle being the Peanut Butter Ice Cream. It was perfect (Michael and I ate way too much). Served along with the deserts was Michael’s final offering of the evening, a tri-layered cocktail of spiced rum, Bailey’s, and Kahlua, sporting my favorite name of the night, the Pousse Cafe.

Great food. Great cocktails. Great company. Hope to see you next time.

-Jeremy
Associate - The Blue Apron