March 25, 2008

Putting on the Dog

If you've been reading Nona Nelson's blog on Roanoke.com, the Happy Wag, you've already heard about "Putting on the Dog," a fundraiser for the St. Francis of the Assisi service dog foundation.

But I've got something Nona doesn't haaaaave: the menu!

That's right, this is what happens when seven chefs, some from competing restaurants in Roanoke, team up to create one fabulous meal: blackened beef tenderloin with blue cheese mousse, a duck proscuitto and roasted corn relish salad, she crab bisque, fois gras brioche-stuffed quail and much more.

Putting on the Dog happens at the Roanoke Country Club on Thursday, April 17. Tickets are $150 per person or $1500 per table (seats 8) and includes the seven-course meal, complete with South African wine pairings.

Chef Brett McKee (pictured above) of the Oak Steakhouse in Charleston, S.C. is kind of the star of the culinary show. The Roanoke College graduate is fixing tournados of filet mignon with rosemary-Parmesan potato gratin, sweet corn custard and black truffle demi-glace as the main course.

But several very talented Virginia chefs will also be hard at work in the kitchen, including Tony Pope (who is making the quail), Brian Murtagh of the Roanoke Country Club (making apricot sorbet) and Chad Scott of 202 Market, who is planning to prepare a dessert of compressed apple with saffron air and smoked caramel.

Also cooking are Chef Bland from U.S. Food Service, Chef Baxter of the Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon and Chef Gautier of Surf 'n' Turf in Grandin.

Tickets are still available and the price includes the entire evening of food and wine, with live blues and jazz music by Deborah Liles and Jeff Todd. Proceeds will go to St. Francis, a Roanoke-based service dog organization that is the largest such organization in Virginia.

According to St. Francis spokeswoman Niki Voudren, it costs nearly $20,000 to raise and train one service dog. The organization gives those dogs to its partners free of charge.

For tickets, call Voudren at St. Francis at 540-342-3647, ext. 106. I've attached the full menu below. Please note that it is a draft so some things could change between now and the event.

Putting on the Dog 2008 -- Draft Menu

Hor d' Oeuvres by Chef Bland, US Food Service:
Roasted Fig with Mascarpone and Prosciutto
Black and Blue: Blackened Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Mousse
Salmon BLT: Salmon Bacon, Heirloom Tomato, and Micro Greens Tuna Tartar on Endive

Salad by Chef Baxter, Martha Washington Inn:
Duck prosciutto and roasted corn relish over local mixed greens with aged cheddar cheese and blackberry merlot sorbet

Soup by Chef Gautier, Surf n' Turf on Grandin:
She Crab Bisque with Hand-picked Crab Claw Garnish

Appetizer by Chef Pope, Tony Pope Bistro:
Quail stuffed with foie gras brioche and chanterelle mushrooms with peach jam and cider reduction

Sorbet by Chef Murtagh, Roanoke Country Club:
Apricot Sorbet

Entrée by Chef McKee, Oak Steak House in Charleston, SC:
Tournados of Filet Mignon with Rosemary Parmesan Potato Gratin, Sweet Corn Custard and Black Truffle Demi Glace

Dessert by Chef Scott, 202 Market:
Compressed Apple, Saffron Air, Smoked Caramel

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• Posted by Lindsey Nair in Food events
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