HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Chef Patrick Evans-Hylton joins Coast Live with a very creative fancy spin on the camp appetizer "Ants on a Log," plus a traditional Old Fashioned cocktail to cool you down in the summer heat.
Here's what Chef Patrick had to say about today's selections on his Virginia Eats and Drinks blog:
BON APPETIT! CHILDHOOD UPGRADED WITH OUR MILLION DOLLAR ANTS ON A LOG
Few foods say “Virginia gathering” quite like barbecue.
A childhood favorite gets a glamorous glow-up with my Million Dollar Ants on a Log.
Crisp, slightly bitter Belgian endive replaces celery, while rich homemade pimento cheese stands in for peanut butter.
The finishing flourish? Caviar instead of raisins. Affordable varieties from specialty and upscale grocers work beautifully.
Serve these on a fancy platter at a cocktail party, or plate a few as a playful first-course salad.
They’re delicious any time of year, but especially shine during the holidays and for National Ants on a Log Day, celebrated the second Tuesday of September.
Childhood snack, all grown up and dressed to impress.
Here’s how I make it:
Separate endive into individual leaves. In the concave part of the leaf, spread 1 tablespoon homemade or premium-quality pimento cheese. Top off with a sprinkling of 1 teaspoon caviar and garnish with a light flourish of finely chopped flat leaf parsley.
Makes about a dozen.
For my recipe for pimento cheese, visit my blog at VirginiaEatsAndDrinks.com
RAISE A GLASS — OLD FASHIONED COCKTAILS TO CELEBRATE VIRGINIA SPIRITS MONTH
Some cocktails chase trends.
The Old Fashioned simply waits for them to pass. Dating to the early 19th century, this timeless combination of whiskey, sugar, bitters and citrus remains the very definition of a classic cocktail.
For September’s Virginia Spirits Month and Virginia Heritage Month, pour it with Virginia bourbon.
Distillers across the Commonwealth are crafting distinctive bourbons that marry time-honored traditions with a decidedly Virginia sense of place.
Rich and warming, my Old Fashioned cocktail balances bourbon’s caramel, vanilla and oak notes with bittersweet spice and bright orange.
Elegant, unfussy and endlessly stylish, a Virginia Old Fashioned makes a handsome signature drink for cocktail parties, from early fall straight through the holidays.
Here’s how I make it:
In the bottom of an old fashioned glass, add 1 sugar cube and 3 dashes Angostura or orange bitters. Add 1 orange slice, and muddle. Add several ice cubes and 3 ounces bourbon then stir well. Some folks add a splash of soda water. Garnish with an orange slice and maraschine cherry.
Makes 1 cocktail.
Recipe from my book, “Virginia Distilled: Four Centuries of Drinking in the Old Dominion.”Bourbon comes from Virginia’s Ironclad Distillery, IroncladDistillery.com.
More about Virginia Spirits, VirginiaSpirits.org.
EAT, DRINK + DO: LET’S DO BRUNCH AT THE CAVALIER
Brunch is a grand celebration of life. A little breakfast, a little lunch. A little savory, a little sweet. A little of this, a lot of that.
And few places in Virginia Beach provide a more elegant backdrop for the occasion than Becca Restaurant & Garden, tucked inside the storied Historic Cavalier Hotel at the Oceanfront.
The grande dame on the hill has been welcoming guests for nearly a century, and now enters a new chapter under new ownership. Thankfully, some traditions remain, including settling into Becca for their leisurely Weekend Brunch.
I recently did just that with a dear friend, Stella Pomianek (of Norfolk’s Cafe Stella) and we were extremely pleased.
Executive Chef Edgar Kano offers a menu that hits all the right brunch notes, with seafood, egg dishes, salads, sandwiches and other temptations that make deciding what to order half the fun.
We began with Caviar Deviled Eggs, an elegant little indulgence that takes the familiar picnic favorite decidedly uptown.
Local Oysters on the Half Shell (Mobjack Bay, Va.) followed, beautifully presented and tasting wonderfully of the sea, accompanied by all the classic accoutrements.
For my main course, the Becca Omelet was a standout, generously filled with sweet lump blue crab, vegetables and white cheddar. I traded the potatoes for a fresh house salad and added sourdough toast, making for a plate that was satisfying without weighing down the afternoon.
And because brunch deserves bubbles, we enjoyed a bottle of Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs, a vintage California sparkling wine that proved a lovely companion to everything from oysters and caviar to crab and eggs.
Brunch should never feel rushed. It should feel a little celebratory, a little indulgent and perhaps even a little glamorous. At Becca, ours was all three.
For more, visit BeccaVB.com.
For more on Chef Patrick and Virginia Eats + Drinks visit VirginiaEatsAndDrinks.com
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