May Day and My New Jam, Fennel Marmalade
Written by Marie, Posted in Miscellaneous
This year’s May Day event, our 10th annual celebration of spring, was the best yet. We had live music, farm stands, artists, food trucks, local artisan vendors, children’s activities and, of course, dancing around the may pole. But my favorite part was that people we love and trust were in charge of the vision and implementation. Steve and I were out of town leading up to that weekend, arrived Saturday night and spent Sunday enjoying the festival.
Lexus was a major sponsor of the event and wanted to host a VIP brunch for 100 on May Day morning at the Bosch Experience Center. My oldest daughter, Garnie, asked her boyfriend, Matt Adolfi, if he would be willing to cook and he jumped right in. Matt is a chef, but not just any chef. He is the chef de cuisine at Bacchanalia, which means he has skills and a tremendous amount of talent.
The food was amazingly impressive: Matt was up three nights in a row until 5:30 a.m. prepping for his menu, which included eggs benedict with quail eggs, fresh lobster rolls, homemade sweet rolls with caramelized pecans, rhubarb granola parfaits and homemade fennel sausage on buttermilk biscuits with fennel marmalade. His friend Daniel Chance, who will be executive chef of Dub’s Fish Camp in the new Ponce City Market, lent a helping hand on Saturday. And every bit of it was exquisite.
Matt is a great guy and he makes my daughter happy—that’s all I care about. But if he was trying to impress me with all that wonderful food, he certainly accomplished his mission.
Fennel Marmalade
- Like most natural-born chefs, Matt often relies on his gut instead of recipes to create a delicious dish. Use this as a guideline for your own version and serve with freshly baked buttermilk biscuits.
- Sliced fennel
- Small amount of sliced onion
- Equal parts sugar and Champagne vinegar
- Dash of Pernod
Combine all ingredients in a food processor until completely mixed. Put in a pot and reduce on medium heat until thick and the sugar starts to bubble. Place in a jar or covered bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.
