Rick Gresh brings eye of the ribeye to The Dish

Cleveland native and longtime Chicago resident Rick Gresh has been on the top of the Windy City's best-of lists for years. In 2001, he was named a James Beard "Rising Star of American Cuisine," and his star has continued to rise. Gresh was recently named the executive chef of Virgin Hotels Chicago, the brand's first U.S. property.

Here's how to make a few of the chef's signature dishes: eye of the ribeye, cauliflower caesar, tuna tartare, lobster flatbread, bourbon eclairs and a Spaceboy to drink!

Eye of the Ribeye

10oz beef ribeye - eye only (deckle removed)

2 oz butter

2 oz flour

2 cups Milk

4 oz gruyere cheese, grated

2 oz parmesean cheese, grated

2 oz roasted bone marrow, scooped from bone

3oz macaroni, blanched

1ea beef marrow bone, long cut, roasted & cleaned

2 tbsp toasted panko breadcrumbs

1 tsp chopped chives

Method:

1. In a sauce pan melt butter, add flour and cook until combined with butter over low heat. Approx. 1 min.

2. Add milk and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 30 min.

3. Add cheese and melt, add bone marrow. Keep warm.

4. In hot sauté pan, sear tattoo side of steak. Cook until desired temperature. Finish in the oven if necessary.

5. Heat about 4 oz of the cream sauce and add the blanched pasta, toss to coat. Season to taste.

6. Spoon macaroni into a cleaned beef marrow bone. Top with toasted panko breadcrumbs. Place in a hot oven until heated through. When bone is removed from the oven, garnish with chopped chives.

7. Garnish steak with sea salt and serve alongside bone marrow macaroni.

Black Truffle Food Ink

½ ea Shallot, minced

1ea Garlic, minced

2 cups Portobello mushroom gills

1 cup water or vegetable stock

3 ea thyme branches, tied into a boquet

1 ¼ oz Squid ink

¼ cup Truffle oil

1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Sweat the shallots and garlic in a small amount of oil until translucent.

2. Add the portobello gills, and water/stock. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer until liquid is reduced by half.

3. Remove and puree in a blender for 8 - 10 min.

4. Strain through a chinois, pressing all liquid through until mix is dry. Discard dry mix and place the liquid back into a clean sauce pan. Reduce to consistency of heavy cream.

5. Return to the blender and add squid ink, puree until smooth, slowly incorporate truffle oil and salt. Puree for 2 min until fully incorporated.

6. Strain through a chinois and chill immediately.

Cauliflower Caesar

1 1/2 cup tri-color cauliflower, shaved (green, purple, orange)

1/3 cup endive leaves

2tbsp grated parmesan

3 tbsp anchovy-citrus vinaigrette

3tbsp fried Brussels sprout leaves

5ea baguette croutons - shaved thin

3ea white anchovy filets

6ea shaved pecorino or parmesan curls

dressing

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp shallot, minced

½ ea lemon, juiced

½ ea grapefruit juiced

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

3 ea white anchovy filets, minced

Method:

1. Sweat the garlic and shallot, combine with the rest of the ingredients. Keep cold.

2. In bowl, combine shaved tri-color cauliflower, endive, and grated parmesan

3. Season cauliflower mixture with salt and pepper. Toss with anchovy citrus vinaigrette.

4. Add crispy fried brussel sprouts and crushed baguette croutons, toss

5. On plate, garnish with 3 anchovy halves and shaved pecorino

Tuna Tartare

4 oz ahi tuna, small diced

1 tbsp scallions, green part only sliced

1 tbsp scallion whites, sliced on a bias - in ice water

1 tbsp XO sauce

1 tsp grated ginger

2 tsp soy sauce

½ tsp sriracha

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp crushed toasted peanuts

garnish fried shallots rings

garnish micro cilantro or cilantro leaves

Method:

1. In a bowl, combine xo sauce with ginger, soy, sriracha, olive oil and vinegar.

2. Add diced tuna, scallion greens, Season with salt and pepper. Toss completely.

3. In separate bowl, toss scallion whites with crispy shallots and peanuts

4. Arrange tuna lengthwise on plate, top with peanut mixture. Garnish with cilantro

XO Sauce

½ cup dried shrimp, rehydrated in H20 overnight

½ cup dried scallop, rehydrated in H20 overnight

½ cup Chinese sausage, minced

¾ cup canola oil

¼ cup garlic clove

¼ cup peeled ginger, rough chopped

¼ cup soy sauce

1 ea shallots, rough chopped

¼ cup red chili flake

Method:

1. In a robot coupe, combine rehydrated shrimp and scallop. Pulse until no large chunks remain.

2. Repeat step 1 with garlic, shallot, and peeled ginger.

3. In a medium sauce pan, sweat garlic, shallot, and ginger mixture in 1 cup of canola oil. About 5 minutes

4. Add red chili flake, Chinese sausage, and shrimp/scallop mixture. Cook an additional 5-8 minutes, adding oil as needed.

5. Add remaining oil and bring to a low simmer. Add soy sauce. Simmer stirring occasionally until sauce is caramel in color. About 10 minutes.

Lobster Flatbread

1ea grilled flatbread (oval shape approx. 4 inches wide by 9 inches long)

2 ½ - 3 oz par-cooked lobster meat, cut into ½" chunks

1 tsp lemon zest, micro planed

2 tbsp crème fraiche

2-3 tbsp Butter, melted

2 tsp Black American sturgeon caviar

2 tsp Red tobikko caviar

2 tsp Salmon roe

garnish baby arugula

¼ tsp Aleppo pepper

1. Brush a pre-grilled flatbread with melted butter.

2. In a small sauté pan, gently heat poached lobster in 1TBSP butter

3. Spread an even layer of crème fraiche on flatbread edge to edge. Arrange warm lobster pieces evenly over the top. Place in a hot oven just long enough to warm through 3-4 minute

4. Garnish flatbread with dollops of caviar and baby arugula. With a knife, cut flatbread into triangles. Finish with Aleppo pepper and lemon zest and arrange on a slate.

Flatbread Dough

Poolish

1 oz 1/8 tsp whole wheat flour

1 oz bread flour

2 oz water

1/8 t yeast

Method:

1. Combine, ferment 8-12 hrs.

Dough

6.5 oz bread flour

4.5 oz water

1/8 t yeast

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 oz oil

4 1/4 oz poolish

Method:

1. Combine everything in mixer, incorporate for about 4 minutes on low speed, scraping sides periodically.

2. Turn mixer to high speed, develop for 2-4 minutes until dough pulls away from sides.

3. 1 ½ hr ferment until doubled in size.

4. Divide into 4 oz pieces, shape into round balls

5. Rest 25 minutes, roll/stretch into shape.

6. Brush with melted butter and grill lightly on each side to set dough.

Bourbon Eclairs

For Plating:

Dust eclairs with powdered sugar.

In small bowl, fill with fruit coulis

Batter-Pate a Choux

6 ½ oz Milk

6 ½ oz Water

¾ tsp Sugar

6 oz Butter

¾ tsp Salt

7 oz AP Flour

11 oz Eggs

Method:

1. Combine milk, water, sugar, butter, and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil.

2. With a spatula, add in flour and cook until dough forms and pulls away from the pot.

3. Put into a mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix until steam dissipates.

4. Slowly add eggs, scraping between additions.

5. Pipe with round tip #804 into 1 ½ inch long tubes.

6. Bake at 325 F for 25-30 mins, or until golden brown.

7. Once cooled, use a small star tip to open two holes on the bottom of each éclair.

8. Fill with bourbon cream.

Raspberry Sauce

8 oz raspberries fresh

2 ½ oz sugar

pinch salt

1 tsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Combine raspberries, sugar, and salt in a large pot.

2. Cook on low until sugar dissolves and coulis thickens. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Let cool over ice bath.

Bourbon Cream Filling

4 ½ oz Milk

½ oz Butter

1 oz Sugar

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

1 oz egg yolk

1 tsp Corn starch

3 ½ oz Bourbon

Method:

1. Boil milk and vanilla.

2. Combine sugar and corn starch in a bowl.

3. Add the yolks to the sugar mixture.

4. Temper into the warmed milk. Cook over low heat while whisking constantly. When thickened, add butter and bourbon and beurre mix with stick blender.

5. Pour into a shallow hotel pan, wrap-to-touch with plastic wrap. Let chill in cooler. When chilled, pour into a mixer and whip until smooth.

Spaceboy

1.5oz Herradura silver tequila

.75oz lime juice

.5oz rothman & winter creme de violette

.25oz lazzaroni amaretto

3dashes dr. Adam elmigirab Aphrodite bitters

1/8-1/4 sheet culinary grade silver

About 1/4 oz Giffard creme de mure give or take

Shake first 6 ingredients over ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass (one of the few occasions where double straining with a tea strainer is Not recommended). Sink creme de mure down the inside of the glass to the bottom to create a layered effect.

Photographs best after it's sat for a few minutes and the cloudiness from the shaking settles. Should look like stars floating in space. Also, the narrower the shape of the martini glass, the better.