Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups grated fontina cheese
1-2 cups all-purpose flour
Salt to taste
1 tbsp picked thyme

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and start a large pot of salted water boiling. Place the sweet potatoes on a sheet tray and using a fork, poke four sets of holes in them. Roast for 35-45 minutes or until soft all the way through. While this is roasting, combine egg yolks and cheese in a large mixing bowl.

While the potatoes are still hot, use a potato masher or a food mill to puree them into the cheese/egg mixture. Mix well until cheese is melted and place in the fridge. Once the mixture is cool, place on a floured work surface and begin kneading the flour into it 1/2 cup at a time. Add only enough flour to make the mixture slightly firm. To test the dough as you work place a small piece in the boiling water and watch for it to float. If it breaks apart, add more flour. If it floats and is very firm and tastes like flour, you’ve added too much. Ideally use only enough flour to bind the mixture so it holds together in the water.

Once you have enough flour in the dough roll it out into 3/4-inch diameter logs and cut it into 1-inch long pieces, lightly flouring them to keep from sticking. Boil them in small batches until they float for 30 seconds, placing them immediately in a ice water bath.

Start a large sauté pan on the stove on high heat, melt 2 tbsp of butter in the pan until dark brown, sauté the gnocchi in the butter until crispy on one side, add the picked thyme and season with salt and pepper. Drain off the excess butter and serve hot.

Glazed Baby Vegetables

1 bunch baby carrots 1 bunch baby red beets
1 bunch baby yellow beets 1 bunch baby turnips
1 bunch kale 2 tbsp butter unsalted
2 tbsp champagne vinegar 3 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Peel the baby turnips and carrots and trim the greens off 1 inch from the vegetable. Place in separate pots of salted cold water and bring up to a boil, slowly poaching until tender. Once the vegetables are tender move them to a bowl of salted ice water. Peel the baby beets by hand using a towel (the peels should come right off if they are cooked through). Pull the stems off of the kale and cut into large strips. Place a large sauté pan on high heat and melt butter until dark brown. Add the baby vegetables and sauté lightly until hot. Add the brown sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cook until the sugar melts into a light glaze. Add the kale last and cook until wilted but bright.
Serve immediately.

Tomato Saffron Butter

3 cups tomato juice (blended and strained roma tomatoes
work the best)
3 cups white wine
2 shallots
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1 small pinch of saffron
1/2 pound of butter
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Method:

In a stainless steel saucepot combine the shallots, bay, thyme, wine and tomato juice. Reduce this until only a thin layer in the bottom of the pot remains (approx. 1/4-inch thick). Strain all the liquid into a clean stainless steel pot, and add the saffron. On medium heat begin to whisk in the cold butter 1 tbsp at a time until the sauce is a velvety thick texture. Season to taste with the lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Present the dish with the sauce on the bottom of the bowl, the gnocchi and vegetables on top and fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano to finish.

Recipe by chef Jake Crenshaw of T. Maccarone

The young chef’s cooking education reads like a story from the school of hard knocks and makes one appreciate his rise through the culinary ranks all the more. Moss earned his professionalism and refined palate by working in a plateful of restaurants in town.

And, he’s got Parish watching his back. “There’s a difference in the way he approaches the whole business of chefing that you don’t see very often,” Parish says. “He’s cooking for you. That’s different than the guy that sees the ticket come through and says, ‘Oh, I’ve got to make one of these.’ Every single ticket is important. Some people aren’t like that. And they don’t work here anymore.”

Did you always want to be a chef?
CHEF CALEB: No. I kind of stumbled into restaurant work at a young age because I needed a job. So I started bussing tables and doing dishes at Clarette’s.

Your big break?
Creektown. Bill and Tom are awesome. That’s when the passion kicked in.

There’s this sandwich there that changed my life. It used to be called the Tuscan Beef and now it’s…
(laughing) That was mine. Roast beef with a little tomato and roasted red pepper chutney and …

No way.
Way.

So you’ve brought that vision here …
I took the momentum Bob built with steaks, barbeque and pasta and jazzed it up. I jazzed it.

Kitchen personality vs. “street” personality?
Some people tell me I’m intimidating. When I’m in the kitchen I defi nitely have my game face on. I live for the busy nights. A 20-top? Bring it on.

Underrated ingredient?
Citrus. A little goes a long way. And snow peas, they’re so fresh and refreshing. I’ve used them in a slaw with carrots and leeks, slightly seared and put on top of a white fish and finish it with basil oil. It’s light and lovely.

Overrated item on menus these days?
Fois gras. Give it a rest.

Is there an unlikely food pairing or combination that’s really worked?
I made a puree of scallions, spinach, cilantro, chicken stock and sour cream and served it as an accompaniment to fi sh with fruit salsa. People thought, ‘Really?’ The bitterness of the greens with the sweetness of the salsa was incredible.

Music you cook to?
Whatever comes in on that little radio back there. Sometimes it’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and me and Eduardo just look at each other (laughing).

Style or motto for your style of cooking?
I don’t do snooty food. Rustic, fresh, light, simple, beautiful – let the food do its thing.

Menu item you’re most proud of?
(long pause and chin scratching) I did come up with this crab stuffed filet of sole. I marinate tomatoes in balsamic and extra virgin olive oil and mix them with other top secret ingredients (laughing) – a little bit of freshness right on top.

Best advice received?
It’s not about you.

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