Holiday gifts—Turn on the Cuisinart.
Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club's Sauteed Pheasant Sausage
It is impossible to overlook the fact that Santa is, well, rotund. Clearly all those centuries of eating cookies on Christmas Eve and throughout his early Christmas morning delivery schedule have added up.
To mix things up in the calories department perhaps Mrs. Klaus—and whomever you give this gift to—ought to consider the recipes found in The Club Menu: Signature Dishes from America’s Premier Golf Clubs.
128 pages of culinary bliss.
Printed in hardcover, the 128-page book was authored by Jon Rizzi and Scott Savlov. The book features recipes from 50 notable country clubs across America, and the photography is just as mouthwatering as the cuisine.
“There wasn’t a dish I DIDN’T like,” said Rizzi. “My favorite among the savory were Southern Highands’ Chicken Chili, The Farms’ Pork Tomatillo Soup, Stock Farm’s Wild Boar Quesadilla, Round Hill’s Hendy Wrap and Olympic Club’s Burger Dog.”
Tasty stories.
According to Rizzi, the last two items hold particular appeal because they come with great stories. The Hendy Wrap is named for the club’s pro, Tom Henderson. It’s spicy, meaty and delicious, and was sort of an “off the menu” item until enough people started asking for it. Now it’s a legend.
The Burger Dog—a hamburger shaped like a hotdog in a hotdog bun—started in the 1950s as a novelty at a stand next door to the Olympic Club. Members would send their caddies to grab a few and the guy selling them was a musician, Bill Parrish. Members lobbied to get “Hot Dog Bill’s” a concession on the course. His daughter, Candy, runs it to this day from three stands along the course.
A Colorado threesome.
Three clubs in Colorado—Castle Pines Golf Club, Ballyneal and Cherry Hills—made the cut. In addition to executive chef Joe Piazza's pie, Cherry Hills Country Clubs’ flamed duckling is among the faves. Dan Mattoon, top toque at Castle Pines Golf Club, is praised for his rack of lamb, and Rich Cummings, kitchen maestro at Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club, gets props for his sautéed pheasant sausage.
Clubs with caché.
What’s in a name? Plenty…and the authors were counting on name recognition to catch the eye—and appetites—of readers.
“Pebble Beach, Muirfield, Bandon Dunes, Oakmont, Baltusrol—I haven’t done the math, but I’d bet that more than 100 majors have been contested at the clubs we’ve included,” explained Rizzi. “The chefs were all very flattered, as were most of the clubs, to be included.”
Delicious at home, but not quite like being “there”.
Most recipes are fairly easy to prepare in your kitchen but it is hard to re-create the feeling of being at the clubs.
“I’ve prepared most of the recipes, and had friends and relatives test others,” added Rizzi. “They have all come out tasting more or less the same as they do at the clubs. But you can’t replicate the club atmosphere or the flourishes that chefs improvise on a daily basis.”
To get your copies, which retail for $50 each, log on to Amazon.com.
Email
Print
Feed
Reader Comments:
I've been fortunate enough to enjoy the cherry pie from Cherry Hills. The cherries are harvested from trees right on the property so it doesn't get any fresher! My wife (an accomplished chef) has prepared a handful of the recipes and they are both fairly easy to mirror and really delicious. Now if we can only figure out a way to get on those golf courses!
Ian MacGonnegal, Denver