2 State Bird Provisions Appetizer Recreations

My dinner at State Bird Provisions last month has been to date one of the best and most fun meals I have ever had. I fell in love with every item coming out of that kitchen and have been itching to try to make a few of their dishes myself at home. Since their actual recipes aren't available I have put together my own spin on two of my favorite items- the Garlic Bread with Burrata & the Mushroom Dip & Chips.

Garlic Bread with Burrata

The first time I had burrata cheese was while working at Pizza Antica when we started serving a bruschetta topped with saute kale and one ball of this delicious cheese sectioned onto 3 toasts. Burrata is ricotta cheese formed into a ball and surrounded by mozzerella cheese which is then sealed with cream. As these are both very mild and creamy cheeses they are a lovely palate for full flavored olive oils and salts. In this dish the slices of burrata melt onto the hot pizza bread making for the most refined cheesy bread you will ever eat!

Ingredients:

1 Package Trader Joe's Fresh Pizza Dough
1/2 Cup Fresh Ricotta
1 head of Roasted Garlic
1 Ball fresh Burrata
Good Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper, Seasonings of your choice

Preheat oven to 425 F

Line baking sheet with Parchment paper

After allowing the dough to rest and come to room temperature on a  floured surface (about 20 - 25 minutes) shape your dough into a rectangle roughly 6 inches by 8 inches. Cut your dough into 4 long pieces 6inches by 2 inches. Stretch your first piece out a little wider and a little longer until it is roughly a 1/4 inch thick. Spray or brush the surface with olive oil, down the center spread about 2 Tablespoons of ricotta. Along the ricotta line pieces of roasted garlic (whole cloves if they are small or half cloves if they are bigger, about 6 - 7 pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Starting at one end begin to slowly fold over the corner of the dough twisting as you go making sure the filling is fully inside. As you twist toward the end begin to coil in so eventually the whole twist wraps around it's self.

Place the twists on your parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spray or brush liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt (this will help the dough get nice and golden in the oven). Bake 15 - 18 minutes until light golden brown on the outside. Plate your twist and add a 1/4 piece of the burrata to the top. Drizzle liberally with good olive oil and sprinkle with more salt and cracked pepper or any other dried seasoning you desire! ( I used a Dukka mix which I also purchased a Trader Joe's it is basically an herb and seed mix that added great flavor & texture!) These are a little big to pick up if you are feeling classy use a fork and knife, or by the end if you are like me just rip off pieces with your fingers!

Mushroom Dip with House Made Potato Chips

I was really fascinated by this dip when I enjoyed it at the restaurant. While my recipe may be totally off from what is actually in theirs (for instance they use porchini mushrooms which aren't always the easiest to find, I substituted Crimini which you can get pretty much anywhere) it still has the same essence and I thought it captured a lot of the flavors and textures. This is a great recipe to make the same night as the burrata dish as you will be able to get more mileage out of your container of ricotta!

Ingredients:

12 Crimini Mushrooms
6 Cloves Roasted Garlic
3 Tblsp Olive oil or Black Truffle oil
1 Tblsp Chopped Fresh Thyme
1/4 Cup Ricotta
2 teasp Mascarpone
Salt & Pepper

1 Large Russet Potato
Vegetable oil (quantity will depend on whether you are using a fryer or frying on the stove top, if stove top make sure you have a deep enough pan and oil for about 2 inch depth)

For Dip: 

In a food processor get a small rough chop on the mushrooms (wiped clean, stems removed & quartered) and roasted garlic cloves. In a saute pan over medium heat coat the pan with the oil, once warm add chopped mushroom & garlic mix. Sprinkle with your chopped fresh thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Saute stirring with regularity until the mushrooms have darkened and are nice and soft (about 5 minutes).

Remove from the heat and allow the mix to cool for a few minutes. In a bowl mix seasoned mushroom mix with your ricotta and mascarpone. Refrigerate until you plan to serve (at least 1 hour allowing flavors to meld)

For the chips:

This was my first time making potato chips (I just got a mandolin slicer for Christmas and was excited to test it out!). I used my handy dandy fryer and although I got great tasting chips they were a little darker than I desired. Because I still have a lot of testing to do I'm going to send you to another blog Serious Eats where you can read about their tests and how they found the best technique for the perfect at home made chip! If you don't feel like reading the whole thing (it is very educational but very in depth) the author after many trials suggests first boiling your sliced potatoes in water spiked with some vinegar (the acidity helps keep the potatoes together while the starches boil out) for 3 minutes, drying them on a kitchen towel and then frying them in 325* oil till crisp! I promise to report back on this method.

I am great lover of restaurants not just for the dining experience but also for the at home recipes that dining at creative establishments inspire. It was so fun for me to try to break down what I ate and re create it for myself. Are there any restaurant favorites you would like me to create a home recipe for? Leave them in the comments below!