CORNELIUS NC: Our Featured Chef Jordan Cox is the Executive Sous Chef at The Peninsula Club. Today, we are shifting his duties as a food column writer for LKNConnect.com to featuring several of his newest creations for the Spring menu at the Club. The menu changes with the seasons, a minimum of four times per year. At other times, individual dishes are changed based upon the seasonal availability of fresh ingredients.
Charred Watermelon Salad
With feta cheese, black currants, and baby kale. It is drizzled with a toasted cumin vinaigrette and sprinkled with popped amaranth. Amaranth is an ancient grain that pops like popcorn when toasted.
Elk Carpaccio
The raw elk is rolled in a mixture of black pepper and coffee. It is sliced thinly and drizzled with a house-made expresso olive oil. Topped with fig caviar, microgreens and a dash of pink salt.
“The sweetness of the fig balances the bitterness of the olive oil and coffee. It complements the gaminess of the elk.”
—Executive Sous Chef Jordan Cox
Beef Short Rib
The beef short rib was prepared using the sous vide method with ancho pepper, butter and garlic. It is accompanied by a charred asparagus and corn salad, a broken rye crumb, and a swirl of green tomato barbecue sauce.
When speaking about the green tomato barbecue sauce and in general about his new Spring menu, Chef Jordan said:
“I’m always pushing the boundaries to be different from everybody else.”
Leek Roasted Monk Fish
With smoked corn chowder, charred pearl onions, and crispy purple potatoes. Monk fish used to be known as “Poor Man’s Lobster.” It is a fish that feeds on crustaceans such as shrimp and lobster so there is a hint of lobster flavor in the fish’s meat.
What’s Next?
This week The Peninsula Club’s Grounds Crew is installing bee hives on the grounds surrounding the Club. There is an official beekeeper among the crew and Chef Jordan is already imagining new dishes with homegrown honey.
Jordan Cox is the Executive Sous Chef at The Peninsula Club. A graduate from the Culinary Institute of Michigan, he moved to Cornelius in 2016. Working with seasonal foods, he is always challenging himself to create new and exciting flavor pairing to create an exquisite eating experience.
