Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Euphemia Haye: Creative French-Inspired Cuisine





Chef owned and operated since 1980, Euphemia Haye is locally thought of as the best restaurant in Sarasota. Located within an historic wooden cottage, Euphemia Haye is nestled amid a scenic “jungle” of tropical greenery where palm trees are lined with twinkle lights and birds of paradise are blooming. Named after the original owner's grandmother, Euphemia Haye's cuisine is a combination of international and contemporary dishes which reflect Chef Raymond Arpke's culinary vision. Serving refined French-inspired global cuisine in a relaxed and elegant setting — some call it "Ray’s Cuisine" — creative cuisine at its best. Euphemia Haye's signature dishes include their renowned Crispy Roasted Duckling with bread stuffing and served with tangy sweet seasonal fruit sauce, Noisettes of Beef Madagascar with a brandy green peppercorn cream sauce and truffle oil infused mashed potatoes, made-to-order Caesar Salad and the freshest Florida fish and seafood including Key West Gulf Snapper encrusted with seasoned pistachios.

Nestled upstairs, The Haye Loft caters to a more casual, bistro-style "lite-bite" dining experience with a selection of appetizers, small entrées and ultra-thin crust pizzas, complimented with the dazzling Dessert Room featuring a "smörgåsbord" of decadent cakes and pies, as well as flambéed desserts, all of which are homemade at Euphemia Haye. For those in search of a nightcap and a little light jazz, The Hayloft Lounge & Bar features live music every night of the week. Formerly the apartment of the restaurant’s original owner, The Hayloft was designed as a "swanky" bachelor pad style with dark maple bar, high-back rattan chairs and outdoor tropical terrace for enjoying jazz and a cocktail on salty summer evenings. For wine and music lovers, romantics and gourmands, Euphemia Haye is a culinary experience not to be missed.



Located within an historic wooden cottage lined with twinkle lights, 
Euphemia Haye is nestled amidst a scenic 'jungle' of tropical greenery   

The small front room of Euphemia Haye

A glass of 2013 Santi 'Sortesele' Pinot Grigio delle Venezie

2013 Piattelli Vineyards Malbec Premium Reserve from Argentina

A perfect single stem rose on our table

Chef Arpke's French-inspired menu

Housemade Banana Bread arrives with fresh butter as guests look over the dinner menus

Fresh butter garnished with Maldon salt

Euphemia Haye's made-to-order Classic Caesar Salad with fresh romaine lettuce in a creamy lemon and anchovy dressing with garlic, Parmesan and croutons

Grecian Lamb Shank braised in a red wine garlic sauce, enhanced with rosemary and traditional Greek seasonings and served with puréed and whipped potatoes with cream and white truffle oil

Fresh Key West Gulf Snapper encrusted with seasoned pistachios, baked to flaky white perfection, served with key lime-jalapeño beurre blanc, and red pepper curls

 Sautéed Veal with red onions, wild mushrooms and capers in a sherry butter sauce 

Sour Cream and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Creamed Spinach with dairy fresh cream, garlic and herbs 

Grilled Gulf Swordfish served with a teriyaki, ginger, sesame, 
scallion sauce and garnished with a crab salad

Chef Ray Arpke came by our table to give us a Scrumpdillyicious hello

The Dessert bar in the upstairs 'Hay Loft' at Euphemia Haye features over 13 sweet temptations 
from Classic Southern Pecan Pie and Florida Key Lime Pie to Peanut Butter Mousse Pie with a Myers Rum & Dark Chocolate Icing 














Gamberetti e Capellini
Serves 4
Recipe courtesy of Chef Ray Aparke, Euphemia Haye

White Wine, Garlic & Basil Sauce:
1 quart dry white wine
1 tbsp fresh basil, finely sliced as a chiffonade
1 cup fish stock
1/2 tsp cracked peppercorns
1 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced using garlic press
2 scallions, sliced
1/4 tsp dried marjoram

Pasta:
16 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 quarts fish or vegetable stock
1/2-pound capellini pasta
3 tbsp Italian parsley, finely sliced as a chiffonade


Bring all of the sauce ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan. Lower the heat to a simmer and reduce to 3 1/2 cups, then cool and reserve — the sauce keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week, and freezes well. Bring the fish stock to a hard boil. Add the capellini and stir with a pasta fork until the pasta is extremely al dente. Strain the pasta but do not rinse. Add 16-ounces of wine sauce into the pasta-cooking pot, then and add the shrimp and pasta back into the pot. Place the mixture on medium-high heat. Gently combine all of the ingredients and cook until shrimp are just cooked through. Fold in the parsley and serve immediately.






Creamed Spinach
Serves 4 as side dish
Recipe courtesy of Chef Ray Aparke, Euphemia Haye

10 oz fresh washed spinach
3 tbsp clarified butter
3 tbsp minced shallots
2 tbsp flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced in a garlic press 

1 pinch thyme
1 pinch cayenne
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/3 cup grated Parmesan


Steam spinach until tender, about 3 minutes. Cool, then roughly chop and set aside in a bowl. In a 10-inch sauté pan, sweat the shallots with the clarified butter until they are transparent but not brown. Stir in the flour and cook slowly for another 2-3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, thyme, cayenne, salt, and white pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a very low simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chopped spinach with any juice which may have accumulated to the mixture and stir well. Simmer for a few minutes until it becomes slightly thickened. Stir in the parmesan cheese and cook until thickened to your desired consistency.







Apple Walnut Crumble Pie 
Serves 8-10
Recipe courtesy of Chef Ray Aparke, Euphemia Haye

Pastry:
2 cups cake flour
1/4 cup shortening or lard
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup ice water

Crumble topping:
1 1/2 lb soft butter
1/2 lb sugar
1 lb cake flour
vanilla to taste

Apple walnut filling:
12 cups (3 pounds) of 1-inch apple slices
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 dash each ground nutmeg, clove, ginger and allspice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp flour


For the pastry, place the cake flour, butter and salt into a stainless steel bowl. Cut the shortening and butter into flour until it all has a mealy consistency. Add ice water and mix with your fingers to form a dough. Form into a ball, flatten with your hands and place on a well-floured flat surface. Flour the top of the dough well and roll out into about a 13-14-inch round. Place the dough into a floured 10-inch pie pan and flute the edges.

Then combine all of the crumble topping ingredients in a mixer with the paddle in place, and mix at low speed until it "crumbles". Cool and set aside.

For the apple-walnut filling, place the sliced apples in a non-reactive bowl and sprinkle walnuts, spices and sugar over the top. Toss the apple mixture and mix well. Add flour and toss well. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes. Toss well again. Mound the apple mixture in the pie shell. Top with crumble so they are completely covered. Bake at 350°F for 70-80 minutes until the pie is baked through and browned evenly. If crumble topping is browning too fast, cover with foil until almost done. Serve with a dollop of good quality ice cream.
































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