Green, Eggs and Ham

Well, it's officially Spring! With the warmer days and greener grass comes a pretty major overhaul of the menu. Time to roll out the fresh green flavors!

Asparagus, along with chives, is one of the first Spring items to poke through the ground(actually, we've already cut a bunch of asparagus on the property) so naturally it would make an appearance on the Spring menu. The one dish in particular that I always choose to showcase asparagus is my own nod to Dr. Seuss, Green, Eggs and Ham. There are no 'green eggs' on this dish....that's why I put a comma between the 'green' and 'eggs'. Simply put, the dish is comprised of green items(asparagus), eggs(bernaise, caviar) and ham(always a country ham)

I took the opportunity to take a look back at some of my photos last night to see how my interpretation of 'green, eggs and ham' has changed over the years. Believe me, it has! So, here's a trip down memory lane for me and an interesting look into the evolution of a dish for you. Regardless of the plating, the basic concept of the dish has remained the same: present amazing asparagus and a few other flavors which are meant to enhance the main idea.

2005
At the time of this photo, there wasn't a restaurant at the Sheppard Mansion yet. I was living and working in Bucks County, PA. I'm pretty sure this was the first iteration of 'green, eggs and ham'....part of a multi-course tasting menu at EverMay on the Delaware. The major components here were asparagus, bernaise sauce, country ham and a little bit of caviar for good measure.


2008
Fast forward to 2008 and the Sheppard Mansion. The plating is a little different and I've added a sunny side quail egg, some micro herbs and radishes to the mix.


2010
The here and now. This is what the dish looks like today. The components are still asparagus, caviar and country ham(specifically Surryano Ham here), but I've added another egg element(brown butter mayonnaise), some roasted and chilled fingerling potato(which add a really nice creamy note), lemon oil, radish and edible flowers and flowering herbs. I think this dish is really, really sexy.



I hope everyone will be able to visit the restaurant this Spring and taste this dish. As the days move forward, I'm going to try and post shots of many of our new Spring items. Enjoy!