A Pasta Dish for Fall!

“Pasta Day” comes once a year on October 17. It is here and in Boca Grove fashion we are going to celebrate the best way we know how with a fall pasta recipe from our Executive Chef Dominick Laudia. Grab a bowl and get ready to feel the warmth with Chef’s “Orecchiette Pasta with Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash”.

 

For the Pasta:

1 oz.                                      Olive Oil

1 cup                                     Onions, Julienne

1 tsp.                                     Garlic, Chopped

1 lb.                                       Kale, Chopped

2 cups                                   Vegetable Stock

2 cups                                   Heavy Cream

¼ lb.                                       Butter

2 tbls.                                    Sage, Chopped

3 cups                                   Roasted Butternut Squash, Diced and Blanched

2 cups                                   Cannellini Beans

2 each                                   Roasted Red Pepper, Cut in Strips

1 lb.                                       Orecchiette Pasta, Cooked Al Dente

1 cup                                     Parmesan Cheese, Grated

As needed                          Fresh Ground Pepper

 

Method:

In a sauce pan heat the olive oil and add the onions.

Saute until caramelized.

Add garlic and kale.

Saute until tender.

Add stock and simmer.

Add heavy cream and allow to reduce to half.

Whisk in butter.

Add sage, butternut squash, cannellini beans, roasted peppers and pasta, toss to heat.

Place in serving bowls and top with cheese and additional peppers.

 

Enjoy this dish today, all season long or for those special “Meatless Monday” night dinners.

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Dessert Day in October is All About Pumpkin!

It is officially pumpkin season. Pumpkin everything is everywhere, so why would Boca Grove not celebrate too? After scouring yummly.com I have found two pumpkin dessert recipes from Dixie Crystals to add to your repertoire and celebrate “National Dessert Day” the only way we know how, with desserts! Grab a napkin to wipe the drool as you decide which recipe to make first, Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles or Pumpkin Cannolis.

 

For the Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles:

½ cup                                    White Chocolate Chips

¼ cup                                    Pumpkin Puree

2/3 cups                               Crushed Graham Crackers (plus extra for garnish)

1 oz.                                      Cream Cheese

1 tbsp.                                  Powdered Sugar

5 oz.                                      Dark Chocolate

 

Method:

Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the white chocolate chips for 30 seconds and stir. If necessary,  Continue microwaving in 15 second intervals until the chocolate is melted.

Add the melted white chocolate chips, pumpkin puree, crushed graham crackers, cream cheese and powdered sugar to a food processor.

Pulse until a dough forms.

Chill for three hours or until it is easy to roll into balls (dough will be sticky).

Roll dough into one inch balls and place on the prepared cookie sheet.

Chill formed balls in the freezer for 15 minutes.

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the dark chocolate for one minute and stir. Continue microwaving in 15 second intervals and stirring after each until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Dip balls into the melted dark chocolate using toothpicks or a fork.

Return to prepare cookie sheet and sprinkle tops with crushed graham crackers for garnish.

Let truffles harden on the counter for one hour or in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

 

For the Pumpkin Cannolis:

2 cups                                   Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

1 cup                                     Pumpkin Puree

¾ cups                                  Powdered Sugar

1 tsp.                                     Pumpkin Pie Spice

10 each                                Cannoli Shells

 

Method:

Place ricotta cheese in a cheesecloth and let it drain for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Place drained ricotta cheese, pumpkin puree, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl.

With a hand whisk or spatula, stir to combine.

Place pumpkin mixture into a piping bag and fill the cannoli shells.

Shells will soften after they are filled.

For best results fill the shells two to four hours before serving.

 

Eat them together or separately, but either way get your pumpkin dessert on!

 

Iced Coffee with a Twist.

It is “National Coffee Day” and we want you to celebrate all day long! Here is a happy hour pick me up, a dinner coffee or an after dinner drink from Boca Grove’s Assistant Food and Beverage Director Carla Hull, the “Café Frio”.

 

For the Café Frio:

1 part                    Stoli Vanilla

1 packet               Sugar

1 part                    Coffee

1 part                    Milk

 

Method:

Mix the four ingredients.

Shake.

Serve over ice in a snifter.

Garnish with a rock candy stick!

 

Your iced coffee just got spiked!

Savory Pancakes!

“National Pancake Day” is today, September 26 and we here at Boca Grove are offering you a savory option. Boca Grove’s Executive Chef Dominick Laudia and staff are sharing their “BBQ Brisket Chive Pancakes with Sautéed Apples”. This is the best way to have breakfast for dinner!

 

For the Pancakes:

3 tbls.                                    Butter, Melted

1 ½ cups                               Flour

3 ½ tsp.                                Baking Powder

1 tsp.                                     Salt

1 tbls.                                    Sugar

1 ¼ cups                               Milk

1 each                                   Egg

1 oz.                                      Chive, Minced

 

Method:

Mix together all ingredients to make a pancake batter.

Prepare 12 pancakes.

 

For the Braised Brisket:

1 each                                   Brisket

As needed                          Salt and Pepper

As needed                          Oil

1 cup                                     Onion, Medium Diced

1 cup                                     Celery, Medium Diced

½ cup                                    Carrots, Medium Diced

1 lb.                                       All Purpose Flour

5 qt.                                       Beef Stock

2 cup                                     Red Wine

8 oz.                                      Tomato Paste

1 each                                   Bay Leaf

1 sprig                                   Fresh Thyme

 

Method:

Season beef with salt and pepper.

Sear both sides in oil.

Remove meat from skillet (leave juices) and place in a deep roasting pan.

In the skillet add flour to make a paste (roux).

Add stock, wine, tomato paste, vegetables and herbs.

Pour over meat, cover with foil and place in a 350-degree oven for approximately 2.5 hours.

 

For the Sautéed Apples:

1 each                                   Apple, Peeled and Cut in Wedges

1 oz.                                      Sugar

2 oz.                                      Butter

 

Method:

Sauté apples in butter and sprinkle with sugar.

 

To Assemble:

Shred 16 oz. of the brisket and mix with your favorite BBQ sauce.

Place 1 pancake on a plate and top with some brisket.

Continue process until you have a 3 stack portion per serving.

Garnish with apples and additional BBQ sauce.

 

Pancakes meet brisket, brisket meet pancakes. Now let’s have Brinner! (Breakfast for Dinner.)

Traditional Pot Pie – Updated!

“Great American Pot Pie Day” only comes once a year, September 23. Homemade pot pie takes time and a good deal of effort, right? We are talking homemade not Marie Callender’s (that takes time too, just in the oven). Boca Grove Executive Chef Dominick Laudia and his staff have come up with a solution – “Island Turkey Pot Pie Empanada with Fruit Salsa” that easily serves four.

 

For the Pot Pie:

½ cup                    Butter

¼ cup                     Sweet Potato, Diced

½ cup                    Potato, Diced

½ cup                    Onion, Diced

½ cup                    Peas

½ cup                    Corn

½ cup                    Flour

32 oz.                    Chicken Stock

2 tbls.                    Honey

1 tsp.                     Jerk Seasoning

3 cups                   Roast Turkey Breast, Cooked and Diced

8 each                   Empanada Shells

As needed           Egg Wash, Beaten Egg Mixed with a Little Water

 

Method:

Saute all potatoes and the onion in the butter until soft.

Add flour and stir for 1 minute.

Whisk in stock and simmer until thick.

Add honey, jerk seasoning, peas and corn.

Remove and chill.

Place 2 oz. of mix in the center of an empanada shell and brush edges with the egg wash.

Fold over into a half-moon shape and press edges together with a fork.

Repeat for remaining empanada shells.

Deep fry in 350-degree oil until golden brown.

 

For the Fruit Salsa:

1 cup                     Pineapple, Diced

1 cup                     Mango, Diced

¼ cup                   Red Onion, Diced

2 tbls.                    Cilantro

1 oz.                       Rice Wine Vinegar

1 oz.                       Olive Oil

As needed            Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

Combine everything and season to taste.

 

To Assemble:

Serve two empanadas with fruit salsa.

 

Whether hand held or eaten with a fork, you now have a new twist on the traditional pot pie!

The Boca Grove Monte Cristo Sandwich!

“National Monte Cristo Day” is Saturday, September 17 and we here at Boca Grove know the best way to celebrate. Have lunch in the Boca Grove Grille Room and have our Monte Cristo sandwich that is on the menu. We are even going to take it one step further with the “Boca Grove Monte Cristo Sandwich with Raspberry Maple Syrup” recipe from our Executive Chef Dominick Laudia.

 

For the Monte Cristo Sandwich:

8 slices                                  Challah Bread, 1/2” slices

8 oz.                                      Turkey, Sliced

8 oz.                                      Ham, Sliced

8 oz.                                       Swiss Cheese, Sliced

8 each                                   Eggs, Beaten

4 oz.                                       Cooking Oil

 

Method:

Take two slices of the Challah bread and fill with 2 ounces each of turkey, ham and Swiss cheese.

Repeat to make three more sandwiches.

Heat the cooking oil in a skillet.

Dip each sandwich in the egg mixture.

Place a sandwich in the hot skillet and cook until the bread is golden brown on each side.

Remove from the pan and place on a baking sheet.

Repeat the process with the remaining three sandwiches.

Place the baking sheet with the sandwiches in a 350-degree oven for five minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Cut in half diagonally.

 

For the Raspberry Maple Syrup:

2 cup                                     Maple Syrup

1 cup                                     Fresh Raspberries

 

Method:

Combine both ingredients in a sauce pot.

Simmer until the raspberries soften.

Remove from heat, strain and serve.

 

To Plate:

Place each sandwich on a plate and serve with the raspberry maple syrup and fresh raspberries.

 

You are now prepared to make food just like the fabulous kitchen staff at Boca Grove, or you can just stop in for lunch and have them cook it for you.

 

 

TV Dinners Re-Worked.

September 10^th is “National TV Dinner Day”.  Originating in the 1950’s, the classic TV dinner had peas and corn, a meat of some kind, a starch and fruit, usually peaches. In honor of the TV dinner and its national day of honor Boca Grove’s Chef Dominick Laudia and his team re-worked the classic TV dinner meal in to a modern plate of “Twin Soup and Sandwich with an Inside Out Salisbury Steak Fritter and Modern Peas and Carrots.”

 

For the Twin Soup (Tomato and Yellow Pepper Soup):

For the Tomato Soup:

1 oz.                                       Olive Oil

1 tbsp. each                        Minced Onion and Garlic

4 cups                                   Fresh Tomato, Seeds Removed and Chopped

4 cups                                   Vegetable Stock

1 cup                                     Heavy Cream

As needed                          Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

In a sauce pot sauté the onion and garlic until tender.

Add tomato and stock.

Simmer until the tomato is soft.

Remove and place in a blender until smooth.

Remove and strain.

Return to sauce pot, add cream and season to taste.

Simmer for 10 minutes.

 

For the Yellow Pepper Soup:

1 oz.                                      Olive Oil

1 tbsp. each                        Minced Onion and Garlic

4 cups                                   Yellow Pepper, Chopped

4 cups                                   Vegetable Stock

1 cup                                     Heavy Cream

As needed                          Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

In a sauce pot sauté the onion and garlic until tender.

Add pepper and stock.

Simmer until the pepper is soft.

Remove and place in a blender until smooth.

Remove and strain.

Return to sauce pot, add cream and season to taste.

Simmer for 10 minutes.

 

 

For the Sandwich:

8 each                                   Sliced Gruyere Cheese

8 each                                   Bacon, Crisp

2 each                                   Fresh Peach, Cut in Wedges

2 tbsp.                                  Olive Oil

As needed                           Salt and Pepper

2 each                                   Ciabatta Hoagie Rolls

As needed                            Butter

 

Method:

Toss peach with oil and salt and pepper.

Roast in a 400-degree oven for 5 minutes, remove and chill.

Split open rolls and brush with butter.

Place cheese, bacon and peaches inside roll.

Press in panini machine or in a skillet (press down to toast).

Cut in half (each serving is a half of the sandwich).

 

For the Inside Out Salisbury Steak Fritter:

½ lb.                                     Ground Beef

1 each                                    Egg

2 oz.                                       Bread Crumbs

1 tsp.                                     Garlic Powder

1 tsp.                                     Onion Powder

1 oz.                                      Worchester Sauce

As needed                          Salt and Pepper

 

Combine all ingredients.

 

½ cup                                Mushrooms, Chopped Fine, Sautéed and Chilled

½ cup                                 Caramelized Onions, Chilled

As needed                          Flour

2 each                                   Eggs, Beaten

As needed                          Bread Crumbs

As needed                          Oil for Frying

 

Method:

Take 2 oz. of beef mix, fill with combination mushroom and onions forming into a ball.

Make four fritters and place one at a time in the flour first, than the eggs and then the bread crumbs.

Place in 350-degree oil and fry until golden brown.

Place in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes.

 

For the Peas and Carrots (Green Pea Coulis and Ginger Fried Carrots):

For the Pea Coulis:

1 each                                   Shallot, Minced

2 tbsp.                                  Oil

2 cups                                   Green Peas

1 cup                                     Vegetable Stock

As needed                           Salt and Pepper

½ cup                                    Heavy Cream

 

Method:

In a sauce pan saute the shallot in oil.

Add peas and stock and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, blend and strain.

Return to sauce pan and add heavy cream and season.

 

For the Ginger Fried Carrots:

2 cups                                   Carrots, Small Dice

4 oz.                                      Oil

1 oz.                                      Fresh Ginger

1 oz.                                      Olive Oil

1 tbsp.                                  Ginger Powder

As needed                          Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

Place ginger in oil and heat until slightly smoking.

Add carrot and fry until golden brown.

Remove and place on a paper towel.

Place in a bowl and season with olive oil, ginger powder and salt and pepper.

 

To Assemble:

Pour the soups simultaneously in a bowl.

Plate the soup bowl, sandwich, fritter and peas and carrots on the plate as desired.

Serve with Root Beer, Coke or your favorite soft drink.

 

Turn on your favorite TV channel, grab your TV tray table and enjoy this re-worked TV dinner. That’s a lot of TV.

 

 

Easy Clam Recipe for Labor Day!

Labor Day is the mark of the end of summer. The hopes of cooler weather around the corner and all the fun that comes with fall is now in sight. Labor Day for some also marks the end of grilling season. Boca Grove’s Executive Chef Dominick Laudia is sharing a grilling recipe that makes eating clams easy to eat without the shucking! Spend this Labor Day enjoying Chef’s “Grilled Clams Casino and Spicy Corn Soup Shooters”.

 

For the Casino Butter:

1/2 lb.                        Bacon, Minced

1 cup                           Peppers, Diced Fine

1 cup                           White Onion, Diced Fine

1/2 lb.                          Butter, Cut in Chunks

1/4 cup                        Plain Bread Crumbs

2 tbsp.                         Parsley, Chopped

 

Method: 

In a hot skillet add bacon and cook until crisp.

Remove from the pan and reserve half of the bacon fat in the pan.

Add peppers and onions and cook until tender.

Add butter and cook until melted.

Add bread crumbs and parsley.

Hold at room temperature.

 

 

For the Grilled Clams:

24 each                    Clams in Shell, Washed (6 per serving depending on the size of the clams)

 

Method:

Place on a hot charcoal grill and cover for 6 to 8 minutes or until the clams are open.

 

For Spicy Corn Shooters:

4 cups                         Corn Kernels, Fresh or Frozen

1 tbsp.                         Olive Oil

1 tsp.                            Shallot, Minced

2 cups                          Heavy Cream

1 tbsp.                          Chipotle Paste

1 tsp.                             Sriracha

As needed                    Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

In a sauce pot add the oil and shallot, cook until tender.

Add heavy cream and corn and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add chipotle and sriracha.

Remove from heat and place in blender until smooth.

Season to taste and chill.

 

To Assemble:

Place clams on a platter with the casino mixture in a bowl in the center of the platter.

Serve the shooters in small chilled glasses or mason jars.

 

Spend your Labor Day not laboring over your food. Enjoy something nice without the fuss and everyone will thank you.

Tailgating Food Just Got Better!

September 3^rd is “National Tailgating Day” and we want you to be prepared for the whole tailgating season with the best food possible, so Boca Grove’s Executive Chef Dominick Laudia did just that for all of us. You will become the hit of the parking lot with his Bacon Wrapped Cheddar Cheese Hot Dog with Dark Beer Braised Onions and Spicy Asian Ranch Fries for four.

 

Bacon Wrapped Cheddar Cheese Hot Dog:

4 each                                   Large Hot Dogs, Split Lengthwise (don’t cut completely in half)

½ cup                                    Cheddar Cheese

4 each                                   Bacon Strips

4 each                                   Hot Dog Buns, Toasted on the Grill

 

Method:

Fill split hot dogs with cheese.

Wrap each dog with bacon and secure with toothpicks.

Wrap with foil, place on the grill for 15 minutes or until bacon is cooked.

 

For the Dark Beer Braised Onions:

2 cups                                   Onions, Sliced Thin

2 tbsp.                                  Oil

1 cup                                     Dark Beer

As needed                          Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

Place sauce pan on the grill.

Add oil and onions, cook until the onions become soft.

Add the dark beer and reduce by half.

Season as needed.

 

For the Spicy Asian Ranch Fries Sauce:

1 tbsp.                                  Srirachi

2 tsp.                                     Fish Sauce

2 tsp.                                     Soy Sauce

1 tsp.                                     Ginger Powder

1 tsp.                                     Garlic Powder

As needed                          Salt and Pepper

2 oz.                                      Scallions, Minced

 

Method:

Combine all.

 

For the Fries:

4 each                                   Potatoes, Baked and Cooled, Cut into Wedges

2 tbsp.                                  Oil

As needed                          Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

Combine potatoes, oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place on a hot grill for 5 minutes on each side.

Remove and toss in the spicy Asian mix.

 

To Assemble:Place the hot dog in the bun and top with onions, or plate them on the side. Fries placed on the side.

Now that your tummy is happy and fed go root on your favorite team to win the game. Happy tailgating.

A New Way to Teach.

“National Golf Month” is at its close and two of our pros are ready for a new approach for the upcoming season. Boca Grove’s First Assistant Golf Pro Duke Trombetti went to a certification class that has him excited and ready to try a new approach to golf lessons. He and Assistant Pro Phillip Gabes can’t wait for the improvement in our members’ game to come from “Coaching” the game of golf versus “Teaching” it.

 

1. “Teaching” versus “Coaching”?
Golf is one of the only sports where you are “taught” how to play the game. In every other sport you are “coached” on how to play, given proper training, supervised at practice and helped to set goals.  Golf should be no different than any other sport. Professionals have coaches, why shouldn’t you?
2. What is involved in “Coaching”?
Golf is a complicated game that is not easily mastered and it takes more than reading magazine tips, watching videos or taking a few lessons here or there to fully learn the game. This is where coaching comes in. The concept of coaching will help you develop your skills across all of “The Four Steps to Mastery”: Understanding Cause and Effect, Supervised Practice, Transfer Training and Play.

3. Step 1: Understanding Cause and Effect.
This is the assessment stage where the Golf Coach will go through drills to understand the current performance level and to set realistic goals to achieve what can be accomplished. This stage is the key factor in determining a player’s motivation for improving, assessing their level of availability and commitment, determining which skills will provide the greatest improvement, establishing the hierarchy of skills to be developed and providing a clear concept of what will be learned and how. This is the foundation of the coaching experience.

4. Step 2: Supervised Practice.
Many times a golfer does not play to their full potential because they never fully learn what they are taught in a lesson. It may have been tried a few times, but it did not get stored in their brain. This step focuses on deliberate practice, guidance and effective feedback. A Golf Coach will not leave practice up to chance; they will instead design, encourage, facilitate and supervise practice. Golf Coaches will create a learning environment where their players can participate in regular practice activities, making it deliberate practice.

5. Step 3: Transfer Training.
In this step the Golf Coach creates conditions that facilitate the progression of a player’s skill from one that is a conscious effort to one that is automatic, therefore transfer training. When a skill becomes automatic, or transfer trained, then the player can focus on external targets, general swing triggers and course strategy, and let go of specific technical swing positions. How often are we in a competitive environment on the course and we “choke”? This step works on making this not happen. When “choking” on the course happens it helps to reveal to a Golf Coach what is weak in a player’s game and that it is something that needs to be focused on and learned to make sure we don’t revert back to old habits. This also brings on practice sessions that focus on pressure and course conditions by taking the player on the course and doing “transfer training”.

6. Step 4: Play
This step focuses on coaches taking their players on the course to observe and coach them while they are actually playing. The Golf Coach will spend this step helping players manage on-course interference with intensity management, attention control, thought control and focus of energy.

7. Change in Lessons.
With Golf Coaching changing the way of teaching, so will the change come to lessons. Instead of a lesson here or there it becomes a commitment between the coach and the player(s). There is a set monthly fee that devotes specific time to develop “The Four Steps of Mastery” on a weekly basis either individually or as a team of 4. This will save money by not paying lesson to lesson but by one set cost (like when you get a series of lessons – but better).

 

Duke and Phillip cannot wait to delve into this new thought of teaching and coaching a great team of players.

 

(For more information and pricing call the Boca Grove Pro Shop at 561-488-2582.)