12 ❖ Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ November 5-11, 2015 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

By Shirley Ruhe

Gazette Packet

Smell the nutty aroma of thebrown butter.” Foam quickly bu-ubbles up the sides of the sauc-epan as Keith Cabot, executive

chef at Evening Star Cafe on Mount Vernon,adds the cold liquid to the caramelized hotbutter cooked on high heat. He is makingthe brown butter verjus dressing for hisBrassica Salad, a customer favorite. Verjusis a tart vinegar substitute made from un-

ripened wine grapes. But hesays it is important to have therest of the dressing ready to gobefore the butter is browned so

you can mix them together while the but-ter is still hot. He has measured one and ahalf cups of verjus and added juice fromhalf a lemon to brighten up the acidity. Thentwo cloves of garlic grated with a zester. “Ilike to use this small thermos to pour thedressing because it’s easier in a largekitchen,” he said.

Today’s salad features vegetables from theBrassica family including cauliflower, broc-coli and kale. Six curly green kale leavesfrom Northern Neck Produce are spread ona half sheet pan. Cabot places another panon top to add pressure. In addition to buy-ing fresh produce directly from the farm,Cabot says the restaurant has a huge gar-den on the roof with mostly sage and othergarnishes at this time of the year. The broc-coli and cauliflower florets have beenroasted in the oven with olive oil, salt andpepper and garlic at 375 degrees for 15-20minutes. “I like to take the traditional saladand do something a little different,” he said.

Green and white are mixed together inthe bowl as the cauliflower and broccoli arecoated with dressing. Cabot has shaved tinygreen specks off the broccoli floret and willuse what he calls his “green couscous” as agarnish. “I also shave thin round slices fromthe broccoli stalk to mix into the salad. Likewith animals, the same with vegetables. Weuse it all from root to stem,” he said.

The Brassica mixture is placed in a largeserving bowl. Cabot sprinkles copper-col-

ored sumac to add more bright acidity, thenhis broccoli couscous, making a green deco-rative edge around the dish. Pieces of lavashcrackers that are made in the restaurant (acomplicated process) are added to the topof the salad and finally several crispy kalechips are arranged on the top.

Cabot went to chef’s school in Charlotte.Then he opened with a few restaurants inWashington D.C. including Suna on Capi-tol Hill where he was a sous chef, then Sodoon 14th Street and a restaurant inChinatown. He says the major change hehas seen in 15 years of cooking is that, “weknow where our food is coming from. Wehave a relationship with food that my par-ents didn’t have.”

Cabot has been executive chef at EveningStar Cafe since Aug. 10 and during that timehas changed the whole menu: “I wanted itto be more user friendly so guests can cre-ate their own experience.” The previousversion of Evening Star Cafe was Southern-themed but Cabot wanted to access all ofthe flavor profiles, and he wanted the fo-cus to be an exchange between people. Thefirst courses are all Share Dishes so thatguests can taste a lot of flavors of the sea-son.

He walks into the adjoining room past arack packed with quiche crusts. Part of thisjob, he explains, involves organization andthinking ahead to what you will need to-morrow or in a few days.

Cabot opens up the foil on a large, rect-angular black pot to show his own favoritedish, the Braised Short Ribs that are cookedin a water bath at low temperature for 7 1/2 hours. Each is encased in a sealed plasticbag that removes all oxygen and keeps inthe moisture and flavor during the cookingprocess.

When Cabot was growing up, his motherhad retired from the Marines and his fa-ther from the Navy. They were both work-ing on Master’s degrees “so food wasn’t afocus.” But he remembers holidays were abig thing where his godmother would cooka huge feast: “The story goes that I walkedin one holiday and said, Mom, this is whata real kitchen smells like.”

Meet the Chef: Evening Star CafeMenu accesses all flavors in user friendly experience

Keith Cabot, executive chef atEvening Star Cafe, measuresout verjus, adds fresh lemonjuice and zested garlic for thedressing for his Brassica Salad.

Cabot points out that whenyou add the cold liquid to thehot caramelized butter, itfoams bubbles to the top ofthe saucepan.

Vegetables are used “root tostems,” so Cabot shaves off smallbroccoli florets to use as garnish.

(above)“Nice curly kale” fromNorthern Neck produce will bebaked with olive oil, salt andpepper, until crispy. (right)Finished salad includes broc-coli and cauliflower withbrown butter verjus dressing,sprinkled with sumac andhomemade lavash crackerswith crispy kale as the finaltouch.

In the

Kitchen

Email announcements to gazette@connectionnewspapers.com. Include date,time, location, description and contact forevent: phone, email and/or website. Pho-tos and artwork welcome. Deadline isThursday at noon, at least two weeks be-fore event.

ONGOING“Painting the Line, Drawing the

Paint.” Through Nov. 8 at RachelM. Schlesinger Concert Hall & ArtsCenter, 4915 E. Campus Drive. Thisshow that will include works by AnnSchlesinger, daughter of Jim andRachel Schlesinger. Free. Visitwww.nvcc.edu for more.

“Safari.” Through Nov. 15, 10 a.m.-5p.m. at The Potomac Fiber ArtsGallery, 105 N. Union St. Residentfiber artists display work inspired by

the wild. Free. Visitwww.potomacfiberartsgallery.com.

Mount Vernon in 3-D: Then &Now. Through Nov. 20 duringregular operating hours at GeorgeWashington’s Mount Vernon, 3200Mount Vernon Highway. Visitors willhave the chance to travel back intime, and in 3-D, to see how theestate appeared more than 100 yearsago through a special photographyexhibition. The exhibition is includedin the regular admission fee of $17for adults, $16 for seniors, $9 foryouth and free for children youngerthan 5. To view the historicstereoview images as well as themodern 3-D anaglyphs, visitwww.mountvernon.org/3D.

Young at Art Juried Art Show.Through Nov. 20, Monday-Friday, 5-10 p.m. at Durant Arts Center, 1605

Cameron St. Artists 55 and older cancontribute their artwork for theexhibition. Visitwww.seniorservicesalex.org or bycalling Mary Lee Anderson at 703-836-4414, extension 111.

Torpedo Factory’s Post-GraduateStudio. Through Nov. 29, duringgallery hours at the Torpedo FactoryArt Center, 105 N. Union St. To wrapup the inaugural year of the TorpedoFactory Art Center’s post-graduate in-house residency program, the TargetGallery will feature the work of thefour participating artists in a groupexhibition. Free. Visitwww.torpedofactory.org for more.

PHOTO ‘15 .Through Nov. 29, galleryhours at Multiple Exposures Gallery,155 N. Union St. Senior Curator andHead of the Department ofPhotographs at The National Gallery

of Art Sarah Greenough will jury the“PHOTO ‘15” exhibit. Thirty-one fineart photographers will display theirwork. Admission to the gallery isfree. Visitwww.multipleexposuresgallery.comfor more.

Green Spring Gardens Art Show.Through Dec. 27, gallery hours atGreen Spring Gardens, 4603 GreenSpring Road. Artist Carol Higgsworks in batik, oil, watercolor, andcollage. Painter Joan Wolfe workswith acrylic and Erik and CarolineHottenstein use watercolors. Free.Call 703-642-5173 for more.

“Not-So-Modern” Jazz QuartetPerformance. Thursdays throughDec. 31, 7:30-10 p.m. at St. Elmo’sCoffee Pub, 2300 Mount Vernon Ave.Not So Modern Jazz Music playsmusic from the glory days of

traditional jazz, including tunes fromtraditional Dixieland and the Swingera. Free. Visitwww.stelmoscoffeepub.com formore.

“Nature’s Journey.” Through Jan. 2,at American Horticultural Society,7931 East Boulevard Drive. DarleneKaplan will exhibit more than 60 ofher original oriental brush paintingsin a one-person art exhibition. Free.Visit www.darlenekaplan.com formore.

“George Washington’sThanksgiving Proclamation.”Through Jan. 6, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. atGeorge Washington’s Mount Vernon,3200 Mount Vernon MemorialHighway. This exhibit will detail thehistory of Thanksgiving at MountVernon. On October 3, 1789,Washington issued his Thanksgiving

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