Seasonal flavors with a twist
Christmas Eve dinner an Artichoke Cafe tradition
All the flavors of the season with an elevated twist is what the Artichoke Cafe is offering this Christmas Eve. From the New Mexico inspired wild boar tamale and duck posole verde to start there is nothing typical on this menu.
“I’m excited about the wild boar tamale because it’s an exotic game and I’m doing a New Mexico take on it because that’s my background,” said Executive Chef J Martin Torrez. “I’m a big pork fan and I think wild boar elevates the protein because Artichoke likes to do our take on classics but likes to elevate them to another level.”
Posole is another New Mexico holiday staple but most found around town is made with red chile.
“You rarely see green posole,” Torrez said. “And it’s usually made with pork so I thought duck would be very good because it’s an exotic meat. I’m going to confit my duck leg and then I’m going to add it to the duck posole because when you confit you slowly poach it, slowly braise it in its own duck fat for a very long time until it falls off the leg. It’s going to be shredded duck confit. It’s mild. There’s just a little spice and then there will be cabbage and lime and cilantro (served with it).”
A roasted butternut squash soup will be available for guests who prefer a milder, lighter and
more delicate offering. A Caesar, mixed green salad and a beet salad with baby mustard greens, pumpkin seed, butternut squash and a maple vinaigrette also will be featured for those who prefer something from the garden.
A variety of entree selections will please an array of palates. Chef Torrez kept some current Artichoke favorites on the menu including the popular pumpkin ravioli with butternut squash, ricotta, spinach, roasted roma tomato, hazelnut and a sage beurre blanc. The beef tenderloin, seared scallop and the lamb rack, which are guests favorites, also are on the menu with some slight differences in accompaniments including a sweet potato, Granny Smith apple au gratin served with the lamb and prosciutto winter black truffle arancini on the scallop course.
The coffee & cinnamon dusted pork chop is a unique course created by Sous Chef Tyler Townsley. It features a cardamom-carrot puree, fried artichoke heart and a cocoa demi glace. Other courses only offered for Christmas Eve include Chilean sea bass with house-made sweet pea tortellini with a smoked tomato broth; bone marrow crusted ribeye with a white cheddar potato cake and a red chile demi glace and a bacon wrapped apple stuffed duck breast.
“I’m excited about the bacon wrapped apple stuffed duck breast with parsnip puree, baby carrots and cranberry vanilla gastrique,” Chef
Torrez said. “That’s one of the holiday dishes I like to do every year. It’s just something I fell in love with that I am passionate about it. It’s apples with bacon with duck. The bacon gives it a smoky rich flavor and then there’s the sweet with the cranberries and the apple, and the earthiness of the parsnip and the baby carrots just rock your taste buds.”
Christmas Eve dinner has always been very popular at the restaurant since owners Terry and Pat Keene opened it 30 years ago, according to General Manager Bradley Chapman.
“To me the Christmas Eve dinner is all about Christmas itself in that sense of family and celebration,” Chapman said. “At Artichoke we’re always bringing it back and I think that it’s always been a huge night.”
The Keenes try to make Christmas Eve special for its guests.
“I think it’s one of the more special holiday dinners that we do and a lot of families come, especially people who have guests in town,” Pat Keene said. “We try to make it as festive as possible as far as the menu is concerned. It is a very popular night at the Artichoke Cafe and we have done it for a really long time. That’s mostly why it is special to me.”
The exclusive dinner options also allow guests to get out of the kitchen and enjoy an evening out, according to Terry Keene.
“It’s also special because it’s a great night for people to go out, take their families out, get a meal and have somebody cook for them.”