So in the twenty years or more that we have been doing this we get a lot of folks who want to feed us, or invite us over for a home-cooked meal.
We always graciously decline these offers, I’m and adequate cook, Riki’s and adequate cook, Jef, and Sharon and Heather are good, or even great cooks.
But when I got this email I have to admit I was intrigued.
Dear Ronn & the Tortuga Twins;
Welcome back to the peach state! We've met before, but only briefly, so understandably you may not recall. The 2 most relevant details would be a. I'm a long time fan and b. I'm an aspiring chef.
I'm writing to see if you might be interested in being my guests for a complimentary multi-course gourmet meal, featuring a custom menu, inspired by the Tortuga Twins.
If traditional food-on-the-road is leaving you less than enthralled, I can assure you that this meal will make you want to punch the drive thru operator in the face. 🙂
The invitation is good for the entire time you are in Georgia, I'm happy to accommodate your most ideal availability. I really appreciate you considering it; the event really will be fun. And by fun, I mean Open Bar. 🙂
I'm happy to answer any questions you have. Like I said I do hope you will consider it.
Thanks in advance,
Jax
Jacquelyn Brassell-Hamburg
So yes, while I was intrigued, I was also apprehensive. HOWEVER, further communications revealed:
Since I am an aspiring chef, I do not yet have commercial premises. However, I do make a living as a professional cook, and I have a wealthy friend who allows me the use of his home to host private dinners, and tastings for clients when needed. His home has a full bar, and private movie theater, so I host a lot of 'Dinner & a Movie' events, with themed meals & such. (For the 25th anniversary of the film Ghostbusters, I hosted a 'slimed chicken' dinner featuring a reduction sauce made out of mountain dew, just to give an example.)
I am intense, creative, and all roads lead to food in my world. Months ago, I was watching one of your DVD's and naturally my brain went straight to things like "If I made a dish called the Big Bad Wolf, what would it be?..." From there I was inspired to come up with a full menu of dishes based on you guys, and some of your shows. At first I thought of making each dish, photographing them, and sending you the pictures along with the recipes, but then quickly realized that three guys on the road probably won't have the ability to experiment with making a Sardinian gazpacho inspired by Scaramouche, etc... And thus, the idea to invite you all to a dinner event was born. It would be an honor to share my craft with you, as a thank-you for the years of entertainment you've provided, by sharing your craft with me.
That's the long and the short of it. Like I said, the invitation is open (and so is the bar) 🙂 Give it a think, and let me know. I promise the food will be worth it.
Dressed for our themed dinner
Drinks in hand
Kelly and Rhonni
After some discussion and wrangling with our scheduling; a date and time was agreed upon.
Due to an unforeseen disaster in Florida, Jef and Sharyn couldn’t make the dinner, which allowed us to invite our dear friends, Rhonni, Kelly, and Dakota.
We dressed joined our friends, and began the arduous trek, and the battle with Atlanta Rush-hour traffic. We still arrived forty minutes late.
We got a lovely tour of the home of Dane, our gracious (and charmingly nerd-tastic host) and were immediately impressed by not only the layout of the home, and it’s nerd treasure trove, but by the expansive food and drink spread out before us. Chef Jax was nervous and adorable, and our very attentive bartender (named “Thunder” no less!) quickly had some Tortuga Themed Drink Concoctions in our hands. By the way, this photo isn’t blurry; it’s just the drinks kicking in!
Here are the menu descriptions of the various cocktail goodies we inspired:
Tortuga Twins Dinner May 17th, 2010
Cocktails:
The PG Show: apple and mint infused green tea, with Meyer lemon juice and Pellegrino
Captain Morgan & the Island Queen: Vanilla Vodka & Frangelico mixed with Godiva chocolate liqueur & Parrot Bay
Tortuga-jito: Fresh mint and Thai basil leaves, muddled with lime juice and mixed with Seagram’s white rum and ginger syrup
Audience of Screaming Fans: Jalapeno infused tequila mixed with guava nectar, Grand Marnier, and fresh lime juice
Excitement and booze swept over us, and we quickly found ourselves seated ready to eat.
As it turns out it was fortuitous that Kelly and Rhonni were there, besides being really cool funny, special friends, they are also “foodies”, and nascent food bloggers, I took some photos, and Videos of the meal, but all of the stunning shots you are about to see came from Kelly.
I could describe each of the courses, but instead how ‘bout I give you the menu, the photo and have the chef, herself describe them?
First Course: Hap-PI-ness: Raw oyster on the half shell, with citrus segments, coriander & yuzu-tequila drizzle
Dane and Chef Jax
Audience of yummy spicy deliciousness you mean
Clearly Chef Jax knows what she is doing. Clearly, judging by that first missed video, I don’t.
I consider myself a writer, I’m No Riki Robinson, but I know my way around a word or two. I cannot properly describe how wonderful this experience was. Dane, the home’s owner (and our gracious, nerdy host) joined us for the meal. He was just s giddy as we were, claiming “Jax cooks for me all the time, but I love to see her going all out like this.”
Thunder kept the drinks coming, The Mojito (Tortuga-jito) was scrumptious, the Captain Morgan and The Island Queen was more so… I didn’t drink much of the Audience of Screaming Fans, but it certainly got rave reviews.
Our second course was speedily delivered, possibly my favorite!
Second Course: La Scaramouche: Spicy Sardinian gazpacho with Diver Sea scallops, red onion and dill
Makes me hungry just thinking about it.
The conversation was light and airy, we spoke of Anime, and naval jokes (Jax’s Brother JP was acting as her assistant and dishwasher, he was on leave from the USN!) soon more food came!
D’Angelo/Jef really missed out on his course:
Pappardelle alla D’Angelo: Hot Italian pepperoni sausage, crimini mushrooms, fire roasted red pepper and tomato in a smooth provolone and smoked cheddar cheese sauce, served over pappardelle and drizzled with white truffle oil
I just have two things to say: First; what a stupid time to have a water-leak at home that required immediate attention Jef. And Two: Man I wish we could get spoiled like this allthe time! We spoke to Jax about hiring her for Rhonni’s and my next Birthday… Rhonni’s being just two days after mine, Jax quoted a price later that was astounding; very fair, very worth it, but probably still out of our budget. I desperately need to get some blackmail photos on her (or something…) ‘Cause I want to do this again!
The Next course… a light and simple palate cleanser* – with balls!
The Fourth Course: Tortuga Tongue Cleanser: Mango sorbet with fresh melon
I’m dying here! I just finished a full breakfast as I write this but remembering this stellar meal is making me famished! Let’s move on to the course that started it all:
The Course We still are talking about. The Big Bad Wolf: Pancetta roasted pork loin with granny smith apple & fennel salad, and a roasted tomato puree
Think about how clever that was? Pork, Wolf, Granny Smith Apples? Frickin genius! Anthony Bourdain, Eat your calloused heart out!
The Sixth Course: Stars with Cheek: Red wine braised beef cheeks, fried potato stars
And then some dessert!!!!!
The (sadly) Final Course Chocolate Turtles: Handmade chocolate turtles with toasted hazelnuts and salted caramel,
served with English toffee/peanut butter ice cream and raspberry sauce
Jax came and sat with us finally
Dane Thunder and JP spoiled us too
Decadence, thy name is; Dinner with Chef Jax. I think that after we give you guys access to this meal description for a month I may actually copy from our “Members Only” fan club into our Facebook or Regular website. If you can afford it, everyone deserves to get spoiled like this. If you’re looking for an amazing meal in Atlanta, get in touch with JAX.
Finally the meal was over, sadly, miserably … The bright sides: With dinner done things became less formal, Jax actually got to sit so we could enjoy her company, and Dane, Thunder and JP got to let their hair down a bit too.
We Tortugas cannot thank our four wonderful new friends enough for the genuinely magical time they created. Next time, let us wash your cars, paint your house, wax your legs, anything… so you can feel as special as you made us feel that night.
Now, I’m going to cry eat a peanut butter-n-jelly sandwich and cry myself to sleep, maybe I’ll dream of this one-of-a-kind dining experience.
*I clearly have been doing Renaissance Festivals too long, I initially wrote “Pallet Cleanser”, *sigh*
