The Dishes in This Lineup Cannot Be Missed—We’re Drooling Over the Smoked Octopus
Written By: Ameihia Turingan
Photographed By: Trellis Evans Haute Productions Pop Up Dinner
If you’re looking for a high-quality meal served in a small, intimate setting, look no further than Haute Productions’ pop-up dinners in Laguna Hills. Developed by Executive Chef Keith Prante, the dinners are multi-course extravaganzas held once a month with a new theme and menu. The next shindig on the schedule will be held on July 21 at 7 p.m., and centers around the “From Sea to Land” theme. When crafting the menu, Prante’s choice of ingredients and dishes are deliberate and well-planned to create a hearty meal and an unforgettable moment. “When I write the menus for these things, I try to come up with [and] think of an experience,” says Prante. So, to get you and your stomach eager for the grub, check out our preview of the experience below!
Haute Productions Pop Up Dinner
Smoked Octopus
The octopus is slowly cooked in low-heat in a red wine, white wine and Kalamata olive juice mixture for eighteen hours. Then, the octopus is further cooked a la plancha (on a flat top grill) which leaves it with a crispy crust. To elevate the dish, the octopus is served with bold flavors: seasoned, roasted garbanzo beans, aka nahit; a gremolata made from sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, garlic, oregano and balsamic vinegar; powdered paprika; charred lemon vinaigrette; a chef’s mix of micro herbs; and tasty Kalamata hummus. “I’m going to do olives, garbanzo beans and tahini, like you’d make with any other hummus but with olives. It’ll be a light purple color too,” explains Prante.
Quail
Round two of the dinner focuses on a small but tasty game bird. A quail will be stuffed to the brim with a salad made of Fabbri Amarena cherries (Prante’s favorite type of cherries) and baby arugula. Afterward, Prante will cut the quail in half and serve the stuffed bird with a sunny-side-up quail egg right on top of it on a bed of wild rice.
Haute Productions Pop Up Dinner
“Baked California”
The “Baked California” is Chef Prante’s savory version of the ice cream and meringue dessert, Baked Alaska. Similar to a Shepherd’s Pie, this dish is comprised of potatoes, thyme and carrots as well as a centerpiece of a filet mignon medallion. The meat is pan-fried while the carrots and thyme are sealed in a bag and cooked sous vide. To emulate the meringue, Prante also whips up a delicious potato purée. He places the mixture into a piping bag and builds layers of potatoes on the steak and carrots. Around the filet mignon medallion, he drizzles a beurre rouge (red wine and butter sauce) on the potatoes. Like a good Baked Alaska where the meringue is torched, expect a toasty finish on your potatoes.
Haute Productions Pop Up Dinner
Marble Bread Pudding
The dinner ends on a sweet note with a Marble Bread Pudding, a dessert made of chocolate ganache, bread pudding, bananas and ice cream. The dessert has hints of chocolate and vanilla flavors, with thin chocolate ganache on the bottom of the dish. Placed on top of the chocolatey bread pudding is a classic Bananas Foster—bananas caramelized in a buttery brown sugar with booze sauce. To complete the delicious treat, Prante will also include Budino ice cream aside the bread pudding. “Budino is an Italian dessert, like an Italian custard, and I’m going to make ice cream from that,” adds Prante.
To complement this experience, each course will have its own complementary wine pairing, courtesy of Haute Productions’ sommelier David Justice. Tickets for the “From Sea to Land” dinner are $70 per person and can purchased through PayPal on Haute Productions’ website, or by clicking here.
Native Knowledge: Next month’s pop-up dinner theme and menu will be revealed on their website and social media channels.
Haute Productions
23552 Commerce Center Dr, Ste S
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
714.362.6588
