We asked chefs at three City restaurants to share some of their favorite recipes. Here’s what they gave us.
Mad Fox’s Flame Grilled Oysters
Mad Fox Brewing Company • 444 W. Broad St., Falls Church • 703-942-6840 • madfoxbrewing.com
Ingredients:
OYSTERS
• 12 each large Virginia oysters with thick bottom shells (they use Virginia primes)
• 6 tablespoons garlic butter (recipe follows)
• 3 tablespoons toasted bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 loaf of your favorite French bread to soak up the oyster juices
GARLIC BUTTER
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon parsley, minced
Directions:
1. Pre-heat your gas or charcoal grill to 450°F.
2. Shuck the oysters, being careful to remove any shell fragments that may remain.
3. To make the garlic butter: a) Combine butter, garlic, and parsley; b) Keep the butter soft until ready to grill the oysters.
4. Top each oyster with half a tablespoon of the garlic butter and evenly distribute the Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs between the oysters.
5. Grill the oysters over the hottest part of the grill until the garlic butter boils for about 30 seconds. For best results, let the flames engulf the oysters as they cook. This will give the Parmesan and bread crumbs a nice char-grill flavor.
Pizzeria Orso’s Fried Apple Pie
Pizzeria Orso, 400 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church • 703-226-3460 • pizzeriaorso.com
Ingredients:
DOUGH
• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup cold butter, diced small
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
FILLING
• 9 apples, peeled and diced small
• 3 ounces brown sugar
• 2 ounces bourbon
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dough ingredients except buttermilk.
2. Mix ingredients between the thumb and fingers, as though counting money, until the mixture has a cornmeal consistency.
3. Add buttermilk and fold over until smooth.
4. Let dough rest in a fridge for 1 hour.
5. Portion dough into 2 ounce balls.
6. Roll out dough to rounded rectangles.
7. To make filling: a) Combine filling ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on medium heat until gooey; b) Chill filling.
8. Spoon 1.5 tablespoons of the filling into the center of each dough rectangle.
9. Wet the dough around the filling and fold over.
10. Press the edges firmly and crimp with a fork to seal.
11. If frying pies later on, place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate for up to 6 hours.
12. To fry: a) Heat 3 inches of oil to 365°F in a skillet; b) Cook pies in oil for six minutes, turning each several times; c) Drain cooked pies on a paper towel; d) Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Hoang’s Crispy Vietnamese Spring Roll
Hoang’s Grill & Sushi Bar, 502 W. Broad St., Falls Church • 703-536-7777 • hoangcuisine.com
Ingredients:
• 1 (package) lumpia wrap
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 3/4 pound fresh shrimp, diced, peeled, and deveined
• 1/2 cup carrot, julienned
• 1 cup spanish onion, diced
• 1 cup jicama, diced
• 1/4 cup spring onion (white part), chopped
• 1/2 cup vermicelli noodles soaked in cold water and dried, chopped
• 1/2 cup black fungus mushroom, julienned
• 1/4 cup shallots, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/2 cup of starch
Directions:
1. Mix 1/2 cup of starch with water until the mixture becomes pasty like glue.
2. Mix all ingredients (not including lumpia wrap and starch paste) together.
3. Place 1.5 tablespoons of mix onto a sheet of lumpia wrap.
4. Roll lumpia wrap like a burrito wrap, folding the two sides together and rolling the spring roll tightly.
5. Hold end of lumpia wrap together with the starch paste.
6. Deep fry in hot oil warmed to 375°F for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Enjoy with Vietnamese fish sauce, lettuce, mint, and your other favorite herbs.
