ASHBY INN

2011-12-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

"before"

wild pheasants!

we let them age for a week first.

"after"

wild pheasant poached in its own juices, buttermilk infused with beer vinegar, cress pesto, fried ham, crystallized shungiku, crispy panisse

2011-11-13T21:51:00.001-08:00

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Butternut squash bisque, hickory syrup (like maple syrup only made from the bark not sap and not as sweet.more smokey) dried brittle bread crumbs, hazelnuts, bacon candy, sherry vinegar cream

2011-11-10T06:10:00.000-08:00

GNUDI

Ricotta Gnudi, golden rasins, pearl onions, curried walnuts, mustard leaves, cider nage thats buttered and steeped with rosemary

2011-10-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

ROCKY ROAD

ROCKY ROAD. 2012
Frozen chocolate gelato, candied walnuts and chocolate, walnut praline, frozen walnut milk, crispy marshmallow, sea salt, walnut ganache

2011-10-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

INTERMEZZO

HOT AND COLD EVERGREEN SODA

hot and cold evergreen beer. ice cold pine needle beer, hot spruce espuma floating on top. always a shocker.
The idea is to refresh the the pallet and revive the mind. eating many courses the brain starts to muffle the perception of flavors. if you notice when you eat a piece of gum the flavor starts to go away after about five minutes or so. next time try to take a sip of sugar water when the flavor starts to dissipate you'll notice the flavor come back for another five minutes. what happening is the flavor doesn't disappear its that the brain starts to bet "bored". when you take a sip of sugar water the brain revives and perceives the flavor again. the same aplies here. after around seven courses the brian doesn't exaactly get bored but it starts to muffle flavors.
This intermezzo is designed to re-charge the senses via brain perception of flavors.
all the ingredients were foraged around the paris VA.

2011-10-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

THE ASHBY INN'S FIRST HAM

Twenty two months old, smoked with pine cones and sweet woods like apple, cherry, and maple

smokey, salty, and super tender with violet mustard. Pork and mustard, one of life's purest pleasures.

2011-10-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

PAW PAW

FORAGED IN THE MOUNTAINS AROUND PARIS VA

in the bowl is chestnut syrup, macadamia nut butter, maple wood cream, apple vinegar, marigold leaves

instead of utensils the guest dips into the bowl with these: crispy paw paw hand pies, over burlap, smoldering cherry tree leaves and cinnamon for autumn aroma

2011-10-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

17TH CENTURY WINE CAKE

17th century wine cake, marsala caramel, cookie dough gelato, warm chocolate mousse, cookie crumbs

2011-10-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

toasted butternut squash cake, hazelnuts, butternut squash sabayon, rasin puree, hickory wood syrup, salted brown butter ice cream

2011-10-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

WHITE BEAN

smoked white bean puree, garlic juice, puffed pork shoulder, ham vinegar, arugula, sorrel, chive blossoms

2011-10-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

QUATRELLO CHEESE

warm Quatrello cheese dumpling, pickle juice, grilled dilly beans, crispy country ham, sorrel, black bok choy leaves

2011-09-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

REHRUKEN

pumpernickel rehruken cake, plum sherbet, currant juice, chocolate, heather cream, sorrel, marigold

2011-06-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

BRONZE FENNEL LEMONADE

This is one of the intermezzo's on our tasting menu. It's a tea made from the bronze fennel frond in our garden. Just water, sugar and fennel. Then poured table side is lemon juice to make it change to a bright pink color.

2011-05-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

MIMOLETTE

24 month aged Mimolette cheese from Lille, France, ale-agave nectar mustard, popcorn gastrique, blackened hazelnut crumble, stout cookie, popcorn powder

72 hour short rib of beef

2011-05-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

brined with smoke,rosemary,worchestershire. sous vide for three days, and then grilled. ramps,panise,morels, red lace mustard, hot celery vinagrette,parmesan

2011-05-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

HAMACHI

Hamachi seviche, ginger-buttermilk snow, sumac, oxalis, chive flowers, honey granules, borage flowers, bronze fennel frond, radish. All the vegetables and herb/flowers are from our garden.

2011-05-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

ROASTED HAY ICE CREAM

Roasted hay ice cream, double cream powder, sorrel juice, sweetened hay ash, radish, red buds, maldon

2011-03-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

BLACK FOREST

The flavors of black forest cake: dark chocolate torte, crispy chocolate crust, black cherry jelly gelato, cream less almond oil cream, frozen white chocolate powder, roasted almonds, chocolate croquant

2011-02-19T20:34:00.001-08:00

IDIAZABAL

Whipped Idiazabal cheese, Idiazabal puffed cracker, sour apple meringue, pine nuts, pine nut powder, hydroponic watercress, preserved lemon vinegar, extra virgin olive oil. The plate is by Cloud Terre

2011-02-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

CLOUD TERRE

Great big thank you to Amber for letting us check out your amazing plates! if youve never heard of cloud terre check out the link ........ cloud. her work is absolutely amazing.

2011-01-19T22:46:00.000-08:00

CAROMONT FARM GOAT CHEESE

Goat cheese bavarian, rosemary infused goat cheese puree, walnut oil powder, ground fried rosemary, candied lemon rind powder, sour dough croutons

2011-01-02T18:03:00.000-08:00

BARBECUED EGG

For New Years Eve we offered a 10 course menu made up of our favorite dishes we have done over the last year. This dish was the first one we thought of. It is a soft poached egg from FLOHAS farm that has a BBQ flavored tuile melted over it, roasted cornbread puree and pickled cabbage slaw that has been seasoned with apple mustard and Kewpie mayo.

2010-12-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

PECORINO TUSCANO

Pecorino fonduta , cornmeal tuile, black olive puree, arugula emulsion, confit tomato compote, oregano, apple cider balsamic

2010-12-17T05:40:00.000-08:00

DAY BOAT GREY GROUPER

White grits, oyster mushroom, shitake mushroom, "teriyaki",hot mushroom aoli, crispy dashi skin, hydroponic cress

2010-12-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

A ROCKY ROAD

Chocolate ice cream crusted with puffed wild rice and pate de feuilletine, dried marshmallow, walnut, cocoa nib, caramel, fennel

2010-11-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

WINTER SURVIVAL DINNER

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Join us as we host guest chef Logan Cox of New Heights in DC for a dinner featuring methods of food preservation that have been used locally for generations to get through difficult Virginia winters. This six course dinner will showcase both Chef Tarver and Chef Logan's take on brining, pickling, and curing. Reservations required, space is limited.

2010-11-19T18:37:00.001-08:00

MAHI

Mahi marinated in juniper oil, potato espuma, sorrel juice, buttermilk, apple cider balsamic, fingerling skins, pansy flowers, cilantro leaves

2010-10-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

CHOCOLATE

THE ALMIGHTY PAW PAW

Spiced chocolate pudding, candied cereals (farro, wild rice, oats) black chocolate cake crumbs, paw paw ice cream. Think chocolate dipped banana.

2010-10-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

GREENS

Buttermilk cheese, plum juice, honey vinegar, tomatillo, pistachio oil, bok choy, sorrel, cress, red mustard, smoked pepper, crispy dashi "skin"

2010-10-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

BLACK DOG COFFEE

Who would have thought! the best coffee we've ever had is from right down the road! Bryan of Black Dog roasts the beans when we order and we order only once or twice a week so our coffee is always aromatic and deeply flavored. We treat coffee almost like a religion and cherish it deeply. Black dog has a permanent home here at Ashby and we love it when people ask "what is this coffee its amazing!?"and we get to say "its local!" Check them out- blackdogcoffee.net

2010-10-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

FLOATING ISLAND

Bruleed floating island, pear and buttermilk coulis, brown butter and cashew powder, chocolate truffle, and lime zest.

First we make a meringue using as isi cream whipper

the meringue is poached in a simple syrup and pear juice liquid until just set

the poached meringue is then bruleed and then placed on top of the pear and buttermilk coulis and truffle

2010-10-14T19:42:00.001-07:00

SWEETBREADS

Ayrshire veal sweetbreads glazed in a brown butter and sherry jus, sun chokes from Gardner's garden, fried puff ball that Tarver foraged from his back yard.

RABBIT

2010-09-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Brined and braised rabbit leg from Vadon farm, farro polenta, molasses jus, bacon cream, citrus greens, and purple carrots from Joneve's garden. The carrots were scrubbed, but not peeled, and slowly cooked in whole butter.

2010-08-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

BLACK CHOCOLATE

Black chocolate sponge cake soaked in bourbon, cumin seed marshmallow, whipped caramel, sea salt, pistachio ganache. All plated on a chunk of charred spruce

we did a version of this course at the Local roots dinner in Roanoke VA. big thanks to the chef Josh Smith for the opportunity. I had an awesome time.

2010-08-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

"ALA MINUTE"

There's something amazing about mozzarella when its made thirty seconds before you eat it. its warm, its so gooey, its night and day better than that stuff you get at the store. what if it was liquid in the middle like burrata cheese? what if it was ala minute burrata cheese? thank god there's stuff like this on this planet. maybe thats why aliens come here.
heirloom tomatoes from Joneve at ayrshire farm dressed in ham infused red wine vinegar, saffron-tomato gel,caper,cured yolk, bread dipped in tomato oil and toasted,sunflower shoots, basil buds, and ala minute bacon burrata

2010-08-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

CHICKORY

This is one of our favorite roots to forage and use in the kitchen. if you've never had it it has a very similar flavor to coffee.(some say its better)

Chickory macaroon, white chocolate ganache infused with the root after its been slowly roasted.

2010-08-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

CHESSE

Whipped aged Gouda, crab apple sorbet, oat strusel, candied lemon rind, almond praline, sorrel, marigold

2010-08-12T05:43:00.000-07:00

DEATH CAP

Just to show what one looks like. These are one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world. The live mostly in Australia and look exactly like a delicious button mushroom when there a baby. Only thirty grams of this shroom can kill a human. Just a reminder to be careful to all those foragers out there. I found these bad boys outside my house.

this is an actual sign on the side of a road in Australia

2010-08-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

GREEN TOMATO GAZPACHO

Olive oil espuma, Parmesan crumble, bacon and garlic panko. The soup is poured table side and is made from green tomatoes, Serrano chilies and basil from our garden, then seasoned with sherry vinegar and kewpie mayo for mouth feel. It taste like your eating an amazing BLT sandwich.

2010-08-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

VERMILLION SNAPPER

vermillion snapper slightly pickled in garlic vinegar brine, grilled green grapes,speck ham,mustard oil,soffritto, onion "skin"(onion infused dashi with gelatin reduced to dry in tephlon)citrus flavored greens(different sorrels, orange marigold leaves,)

Martin's Beef Dinner

2010-07-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had the pleasure to do a six course beef dinner using Bill and Holly Martin's dry aged prime beef (in our opinion their beef is closer to Kobe than prime). The first course consisted of 4 snacks: Puffed beef crackers fried in beef fat, our take on liver and onions, beef heart treated like a Reuben, and a grilled beef and parmesan consommé sphere. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of the snacks.

Parmesan risotto wrapped in strip loin carpaccio, strip tartare, thickened egg yolk, roasted anchovy and buttermilk puree, saba, arugula, and Parmesan. The bread for the dinner was beef fat brioche with beef fat butter.

Boliti Misto: Skirt steak and beef tongue poached in a beef and grilled squash broth, crostini, roasted garlic, sofritto, mustard infused with matcha tea, celery seed, and citrus seed. The broth is poured table side.

Jerked oxtail, grilled figs, polenta, roasted anaheim peppers, brasiage, and purslane.

Grilled calotte, bordelaise sauce, marrow, triple cooked potato, and pea shoots. The beef was grilled over maple wood and grape vines.

Although many beef flavored ideas were throw around for dessert, we decided to end with some coffee flavored mignardises. White Russian spheres with nibs, Coffee macarons, and chocolate truffles with a liquid coffee center.

2010-07-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

LAMBS NECK

Curried lambs neck, red currants, lentils, smoked bacon, marjoram, pea shoots

2010-06-11T06:25:00.000-07:00

Preserves

As the seasons bring in tons of fruits and veggies, were preserving for the winter ahead. At this rate we'll probably have enough food for two restaurants.

2010-05-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

STRAWBERRIES!!

Berryville VA (fitting name)

Strawberry sherry. Aged for six weeks. Tastes like liquid strawberry jam with alcohol

Strawberry vinegar aging for six weeks. Using in a strawberry gazpacho.

Strawberry sorbet, strawberry caramel, basil cream, butter spongecake, shortbread crumble, candied shortbread, fried basil.

2010-04-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

http://edgeoftheroad.typepad.com/

cool post by Tanner Latham!

2010-04-21T14:57:00.001-07:00

MORELS

Today we got our first of many morels and according to the guy we got these from, they are only going to get bigger. Spring is officially here in Paris, Va. and we couldn't be more excited.

2010-04-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

CAROMONT FARMS CHEVRE

Beets, crystallized lemon, graham, olive oil gelle, tarragon, honey

2010-04-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

FUNNEL CAKE

Funnel cake, rosemary, pine nut praline, whipped petite mansang wine, pixie tangerines in there own syrup.

2010-03-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

"BROWNIES AND MILK"

This is the best brownie recipe I've ever had, hot chocolate-peanut espuma, hazel nut brittle, salted chocolate gelee, milk "sorbet". The hot and cold effect is amazing, and the milk cleanses the palate of the richness perfectly.

2010-03-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

SHAD ROE

Personally I'm not the biggest fan of shad roe. I don't really like the texture of the cooked eggs on the out side of a seared piece of roe. But we tried a few different methods and found this one that is amazing! I am now a huge fan of shad roe and were going to use as much as possible for the short season. We cut open the roe sack and gently scraped out the roe. Then gently cooked it in burre monte seasoned with smoked salt and sherry vinegar. then crusted it with bacon, sourdough crumbs, foraged watercress, and cumin. This is the first of many concepts using the technique.

2010-03-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

"It's personal"

Bill Martin of "MARTINS", and Neal Wavra

True prime grade aged for 40 days

"Its personal" Bill said when Neal, and I had the honor of seeing the final stages of his loved cows. Never in my life have I had the opportunity knowing someone who loves their animals as much as Bill Martin. He has been working with cattle since he could work and dealt with every aspect of the cattle industry. He brings me pictures of the cows alive to show me what they look like before they go to slaughter and shows what to look for when a cow reaches the prime grade which is really cool(one way to tell is if you look a cow strait in front and you cant see the belly behind its shoulders). His cows are grain finished with grain he grows himself! We love bill and his beef here at the Ashby, and we are so glad to have found him. I love how Bill takes his cows personally, and how that feeling effects us as cooks. His beef is cherished here and guests compliment it all the time. Cheers Bill.

2010-03-13T19:50:00.000-08:00

SWEETBREADS

Glazed in Misoyaki with pickled onions, and turnips. Fried peanuts, Dashi milk pudding, and sage.

2010-02-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

Barley risotto

roasted kale, pickled cabbage, Parmesan, mustard cream, fennel seed, oregano

hidden is a poached Rhode Island Red chicken egg

Chocolate, Peanut, Marshmallow, Sherry

2010-02-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

Flexible chocolate set with pectin, smoked marshmallow, peanut butter powder and sherry bubbles

Brown Butter Sponge Cake, Almond, Coffee

2010-02-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

Brown butter sponge cake, almond oil ice cream, brown butter powder, toasted almonds, chocolate soil and coffee pudding

Chicken Liver Pâté

2010-02-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

Chicken liver pate, toasted oats, pistachio oil gummies, ground pistachio, candied fennel seeds, and vinegar crisp

Black Bass, Rice, Ponzu, Ginger

2010-02-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Black Bass (caught in VA. Beach), Jasmine rice, ponzu vinagrette, pickled wakame, puffed wild rice and baby anchovies, and pickled ginger,