Ethiopian Injera Bread

Ethiopian Injera Bread from last nights Author Dinner at Restaurant Eugene with Marcus Samuelsson.

Injera is not only a kind of bread, it is also used as an eating utensil. It has  a spongy texture that makes it perfect for scooping up meat and vegetable stews.

Injera bread is made with teff, a small, round grain that is grown in Ethiopia. Teff is very nutritious and contains very little gluten. It has an airy, bubbly texture with a slightly sour taste.

Fish Fumet

Fish Fumet cooking in the r|e kitchen.

Gorgeous fresh flowers going down the hallway at r|e - Courtesy of Le Jardin Francais

Recipes from a Farm Share

Chef Hopkins is no stranger to lending a hand to his community. He has a firm belief that supporting your community is your civic duty. He demonstrates this belief through purchasing from farmers. There are ingredients from hundreds of farms and farmers on the menus at Restaurant Eugene and Holeman and Finch Public House. Every Saturday, post morning market at 2277 Peachtree, is like a miniature farmers market, with farmers from all over the state bringing their extras to the back door. Additionally Chef and his family are personal CSA subscribers (Community Supported Agriculture) and they founded their neighborhood farmers market, the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. The Hopkins also regularly support food and hunger related charitable organizations including Wholesome Wave Georgia (which wife Gina founded), Share Our Strengths, Southern Foodways Alliance, Slow Food Atlanta and Georgia Organics.

Recently, Chef taught a cooking class that was the perfect marriage of his passion for food and farming with his commitment to food and hunger related causes. The class, which took place at the Brookhaven Cook's Warehouse, benefited the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The menu and items of instruction were based on Chef's personal CSA subscription and consisted of three courses worth of food, straight from a farm share.

Because the class sold out so quickly and the topic is near and dear to his heart, Chef Hopkins would like to share the recipes from the class here.

Enjoy and remember to regularly visit your local Farmer's Market or  support a small farm by signing up for a CSA share.

Squash Gratin

Serves 8

4 Tbl Whole Butter
3 lbs. Yellow Squash, Zucchini or both
2 ea. Vidalia Onion, sliced thinly
3 c. Heavy Cream
1 c. Fresh Bread Crumbs
1 c. Parmesan
Salt & Black Pepper
Nutmeg

• In large skillet melt butter over medium heat, add shallot and onion/leek and saute until tender and sweet
• Remove from heat
• Thinly slice squash and zucchini crosswise
• Place cooked onions in bottom of casserole, layer sliced of squash over the top, add just enough cream to cover each layer
• It is very important to push the layers down to submerge them in cream
• Layer until casserole dish is full
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350
• Remove foil, top with bread crumbs and cheese
• Continue baking for 10 mimintes until golden brown

Buttermilk Dressing

Serves 8

4 Tbl Mayonnaise
4 Tbl Clabber Cream or Sour Cream
2 Tbl Buttermilk
1 Tbl Minced fresh chive
1 Tble Minced fresh parsley
1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Combine all, making sure to mix well. If too thick add a little more buttermilk; if too thin then add more mayonnaise.

Also used as a good base for blue cheese dressing.

Skillet Greens

Serves 8

Apple Cider Gastrique

4oz. High quality apple cider vinegar (the kind that smells like fresh apples)
1/4 c. Sorghum
1 Tbl Dried chili flakes

• Melt Sugar in thick bottomed pot over medium heat
• Add chili flakes and continue to cook until the sugar becomes slightly browned
• Add vinegar, be careful of spattering.
• Stir until well combined and reserve.
• This will keep for months

Greens

2 lbs Mixed Winter Baby Braising Greens, cleaned and destemmed
          (Collards, kale, chard, turnip, beet and mustard are good varieties to start with. I will sometimes add arugula if I don't have mustard greens. I like the baby varieties because of the way they break down quickly in a hot skillet)
1 tbl Peanut Oil (the old southern kind)
2 Tbl Bacon grease (should come from a can next to your stove)
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

• Cut greens into 1/2 inch strips
• Heat oil and bacon grease in large iron skillet
• Add greens, season and toss till wilted and glazed with fat
• Should be done in batches in order to keep heat of pan
• Remove to plate and drizzle with Gastrique

Chef leaves the Gastrique on table for guests to add as much as they want.

Composing a Salad as Glorious as Spring Itself

Spring is a time of renewal, rebirth and regrowth. It is also a very good time for buying and using fresh, local ingredients that you find at your local farmers market. One of the many items you will find in abundance right now at farmers markets is a variety of greens. Restaurant Eugene is fortunate to have formed special relationships with many farmers around Atlanta. Through the nourishment of these relationships, Chef Hopkins has created a salad that encapsulates the taste of Spring.

This salad is certainly not your typical salad. It is void of neither innovation nor creativity, consisting of 25 different wild edible greens from Indian Ridge Farms. It is comprised of no less than 20 steps from concept to completion. Each salad that makes it way from the garde manger of Restaurant Eugene to a guest's table has been made using the same precise steps in the same order every single time.

Here are the steps to building the spring salad, in order:

A swish of Blueberry Jam
A dollop of Mushy Pea
A swish of Sunchoke Puree

A spot of Claypot Pear Puree
A sprinkling of Brandied Peaches

Slivers of Pickled Beets

A dappling of Herb Pistou
A dusting of Mushroom Pan au Levain Soil
A hint of Peanut Powder

Shaved Radishes
A touch of Grated Spiced Pecans
Tuile Crouton (made from H&F Bread Co. Pan au Levain)
Hearts of Baby Lettuce

Wild Edible Greens
A  shower of Sunchoke Chips
Fleur de sel
Pepper

Champagne Vinegar
Champagne
Georgia Olive Oil
Fried Kale

Here is a calendar that can help you eat local!

Intoducing Gabe Bowen, Bar Manager

We approach the bar with the same commitment to integrity, purpose and taste that you'll find on your plate at Restaurant Eugene. The potent potables which fill our glasses are born from thoughtful passion beginning with the producers. Like the farmers who grow our vegetables, the spirit makers we support behind the bar are just another part of our family. Serving up these potions of perfection is Bar Manager Gabe Bowen. He's worn many hats at Restaurant Eugene and a few across the way at Holeman and Finch Public House but his role as Bar Manager fits him like a waistcoat. What started out as a flight of fancy for Gabe, has turned into a passion and a career. He spends his nights inspiring and delighting guests with hand-crafted cocktails. During the day he can be found concocting house made liqueurs, including the coffee liqueur Chef Hopkins uses to put the shine on our our lacquered duck. He also has a passion for homemade bitters, which he considers the salt and pepper of his craft. His hand crafted palliatives help bring uniqueness and seasonality to our cocktail menu. Take this week's strawberry liqueur, for example. Making their debut on our upcoming spring cocktail menu is a trio of bitters he has developed using the finest of the season: whiskey-lavender, rhubarb and his tribute to forgotten southern favorites, ‘original bitters no. 44’. His allegiance to his art has garnered him a trip to New York to represent Atlanta at The Manhattan Cocktail Classic. He took home the win here at home with his ‘Dear Francesca’, a Campari and Scotch cocktail that whimsically represents the book of the same name.

While dinner at Restaurant Eugene is always cause for celebration, stopping by the bar makes every night an impromptu special occasion. Here you can enjoy a sip or dine from our full menu and you’ll see Gabe at his best, playing matchmaker to Chef’s masterfully planned bites and the intricate nuances of a well balanced cocktail. If you are looking for a new scotch to fall in love with or really want to experience all the joys of gin, he can put a flight together for you, accompanied with tasting notes.

His commitment to providing guests with a tasteful experience and just a splash of education are some of the reasons we are proud to have Gabe on our team.

Warm Wishes for a Sweet Holiday