PANAMA CITY — Valentine’s Day usually is a time to splurge on the ones you love — and satisfy a passion for food.
“Our busiest days are Valentine’s, New Year’s and Mother’s Day,” said Executive Chef Chris Infinger, who will spend Valentine’s in the kitchen at g. Foley’s, 3212 W. 23rd St.
He admitted he and his wife, Brittany, will have to travel after the holiday, a little closer to their March wedding anniversary.
“When we go somewhere, it’s not because of where it is, but the food that’s in the city,” said Infinger, who will be serving Valentine’s Dinner at g. Foley’s beginning at 4:30 p.m. (Reservations are required: 481-0354; $100 per couple.)
The special menu includes Appetizers to Share: Seared Ahi Tuna with Florida Citrus Chutney, Stuffed Florida Mushrooms and Shrimp Cocktail, as well as Soups and Salads, Entrees and Dessert to Share.
“We use the most popular items from the menu and just condense it to keep it as high quality as possible,” said Infinger, who also has added a special Lobster Risotto, Chocolate Cheesecake and gluten-free Strawberries & Cream Cup Cakes to the special menu.
On Tuesday, he brought out a Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail, which he has been preparing at g. Foley’s since November.
“Everything I used to make that are all local ingredients,” said Infinger, a Panama City native. “The shrimp came from Greg Abrams, Tarpon Dock Seafood. The lemons are out of South Florida, and the cherry tomatoes from South Florida. Everything on the plate is from Florida.”
Abrams, who has Tarpon Dock Seafood Market at 234 E. Beach Drive, has delivered fresh Gulf seafood to the area since 1990. The big, meaty shrimp pair perfectly with Infinger’s cocktail sauce, a slightly spicy treat that starts with VooDoo Juice Bloody Mary Mix from Ray Morris of Panama City Beach (VooDooJuice.net).
“We use Ray’s Bloody Mary mix here, and I thought this would be great. When we taste things we relate them to other things. Now we go through about a case a week, 12 bottles,” said Infinger, who also uses the mix in the cream sauce for the Shrimp & Grits on g. Foley’s regular menu.
He garnishes the shrimp cocktail with a rainbow mix of microgreens from City Greens Farm in Cottondale and Gulf Coast Saltworks Ghost Pepper hand harvested sea salt from Chef Paul Ashman, assistant professor of Culinary Management at Gulf Coast State College.
“We use a lot of microgreens, go through 6 or 7 of these containers a week. Paul Ashman uses the salt up at the college and I think it’s really cool he takes water from the Gulf of Mexico,” Infinger said. “We go through 3 pounds of sea salt a week.”
The Ghost Pepper sea salt, one of four flavors, was inspired by Ashman’s wife, Judy, who loves spice. Ashman created the heat with the Indian Pepper Naga Jolokia to use in ethnic dishes or a Bloody Mary.
Infinger, who attended Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach, has been teaching basic food prep classes at GCSC since January.
“I like to do a lot from Florida,” Infinger said. “I’m always at the farmers’ market in Panama City or Bay County’s at the Fairgrounds when it is open, or the St. Andrews market or one at Capt. Anderson’s. Sometimes on Sundays, we go to ones on 30A. I see what’s in season and try to use those ingredients as they are coming up.”
Valentine’s entrees will include the 6-ounce Seared Filet Mignon with Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Wilted Spinach, Tobacco Onions and Béarnaise, a 10-ounce Prime Rib, Pan Seared Black Grouper or Lobster Risotto with Arborio Rice, Parmesan and cream cheese from Ocheesee Creamery in Grand Ridge.
“Filet seems to be our No. 1 seller — 250 filets a week. That and our grouper dish,” Infinger said.
He served me a tender filet of Braveheart Black Angus Beef cooked a perfect medium rare on top of a bed of mashed potatoes with red potatoes from Mack Farms in Lake Wales and spinach topped with the béarnaise and onions — a delicious and decadent combination that melted in my mouth and kept me going back for different forkful combinations with every bite.
“This is romantic food, I wouldn’t say luxury food, but elegant romantic food we eat on special occasions like Valentine’s Day,” Infinger said. “For our Lobster Bisque, we always put in puff pastry, but on Valentine’s we change the puff pastry to a heart, do little things to make it more fun.”
BLOODY MARY SHRIMP COCKTAIL
Cocktail Sauce:
- ½ cup VooDoo Juice Bloody Mary Mix
- ¼ cup sweet Thai chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
Boiled Shrimp:
- 1 dozen shrimp
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup VooDoo Juice Bloody Mary Mix
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic
Serving:
- Lemon wedges
- Microgreens
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Gulf Coast Saltworks Ghost Pepper Sea Salt
Procedure: Mix all sauce ingredients together and reserve. Bring 3 cups of water, 1 cup Bloody Mary mix, juice of 1 lemon, 1 bay leave and Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic to a boil. After water has boiled, add shrimp and cook for about 2 ½ minutes until done; drain. Peel shrimp; remove vein.
For serving: Serve sauce in cocktail glasses with microgreens and cherry tomatoes on top. Loop about 5 large shrimp and 3 lemon wedges around the edge of the glasses.
Source: Executive Chef Chris Infinger, g. Foley’s
SEARED FILET MIGNON WITH BUTTERMILK MASHED POTATOES, GARLIC WILTED SPINACH, TOBACCO ONIONS, AND BÉARNAISE
Seared Filet Mignon:
- 1 6- or 8-ounce filet
- Gulf Coast Saltworks Original White Sea Salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil
Procedure: Season filet with sea salt and black pepper, then set aside. Heat oil in sauté pan (stainless steel preferred; do not use a nonstick pan) to about. 400 degrees or right before oil is smoking. Place filet into hot pan and pan sear 4½ minutes per side for medium rare.
Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes:
“These potatoes are very rich and if done correctly are some of the best mashed potatoes ever! Take the extra time to make the recipe correct! It is well worth it.”
- 3 pounds Baby Red Potatoes
- 1 pound unsalted butter (cubed and room temperature)
- ½ cup buttermilk or sour cream
- 4 tablespoons Gulf Coast Saltworks Original White Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 gallon of water
Procedure: Fill a pot with 1 gallon of cold water and season with 3 tablespoons of sea salt. Place in potatoes and bring to a boil on high heat. Let the potatoes cook until fork tender, about 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the red potatoes. You should be able to pierce the potato with a fork easily. Remove the pot from the heat carefully, and strain the potatoes of all the water. Reserve the pot.
Place the potatoes back into the reserved pot. Heat a burner on the stove to low. On very low heat, start to mash the potatoes with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. (This helps get more butter into the potato, in essence making them taste a whole lot better.) Keep mashing the potatoes and drying them out. After about 5 minutes start to add the cubed butter, a couple cubes at a time until all the butter is incorporated. Once all the butter is incorporated to the potato take off the heat. Place in KitchenAid mixer and whip in buttermilk or sour cream on low speed until well mixed. Season the potatoes to taste with salt and white pepper.
Garlic Wilted Spinach:
- 1 grocery store bag or 1 pound baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 ounce butter
Procedure: Heat butter in pan on low heat. Add garlic and sweat down until you get a nice garlic aroma, add in spinach until it is wilted down. Remove from heat and serve.
Tobacco Onions:
- 1 large onion, cut into very fine round strips
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 FryDaddy filled with oil heated to 350
Procedure: Mix flour and spices together, dredge the onion in the flour. Shake off the excess flour of the onion and place the onion into fryer. Fry until golden, brown and delicious.
Béarnaise:
- ¼ cup chopped fresh tarragon leaves
- 2 shallots, minced
- ¼ cup champagne vinegar
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 stick butter, melted
- Salt and pepper
Procedure: In a small saucepan, combine the tarragon, shallots, vinegar and wine over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Blend yolks and béarnaise reduction together. With the blender running, add 1/3 of the butter in a slow steady stream. Once it emulsifies, turn the blender speed up to high and add the remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper and set aside in a warm spot to hold the sauce.
Plating: Start with a bed of mashed potatoes, followed by a little wilted spinach and filet topped with Béarnaise and then onions.
Source: Executive Chef Chris Infinger, g. Foley’s
CHEF’S PALATE
- For more on Executive Chef Chris Infinger and another g. Foley’s signature recipe, see the new Chef’s Palate feature in the Feb. 27 Entertainer in The News Herald.