The Dish: Chef and restaurateur Ford Fry shares recipes

Ford Fry spent time as a fine dining chef in Florida, Colorado and California -- and eventually as a corporate chef in Atlanta, and while the corporate chef position didn't stick, his love of Atlanta certainly did.

He is one of the most prolific chefs and restaurateurs in the country, already establishing a southern empire with the newly opened State of the Grace in Houston and Atlanta's King and Duke and The Optimist topping the list. "The Optimist" was named best restaurant in America by Esquire magazine and King and Duke was recently named of the GQ magazine's 25 best restaurants in America. Chef Ford Fry joins "CBS This Morning."

DISH MENU

Lobster hushpuppies with cane syrup butter

Sticky, smoky beef rib with herb salad, pickles and warm Malaysian roti

Shrimp "a la plancha" with lime broth and "sopping toast"

Charred brussels sprouts with crispy pork belly, orange peel and mint

Branded sour cocktail with bourbon, burnt sugar syrup, lemon juice, egg white and pecan bitters

Spiced apple layer cake with classic cream cheese frosting

Bulevar Cocktail

1 oz. El Jimador reposado tequila

1 oz. Campari

1 oz. Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

Combine all in a mixing glass with ice and stir well. Strain into a rocks glass, neat. Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

Lobster Hushpuppies

1.5 cups Milk

3 oz. Butter

2 cups Bread Flour

5 Eggs

3 oz. Sugar

2 cups Cornmeal

1 tablespoon Salt

2 each ears of Corn

2 tablespoon of chopped Parsley

2 tablespoons of sliced Scallions

½ cup Lobster Claw Meat roughly chopped

1 tablespoon of Jalapenos minced

1 ear of sweet Corn grilled and cut off the cob

1 tablespoon Chives sliced thin

For the Cane Syrup Butter

1# butter

4 oz. Steens Boiled Cane Syrup

1 tablespoon Maldon salt

Allow the butter to soften to room temperature and then mix in the cane syrup and the sea salt. Serve at room temperature.

Heat milk and butter until melted, add the flour and pour into mixer fitted with paddle attachment and combine on speed 1, mix a few minutes to cool slightly. Scrape down bowl. Increase to speed 2 and add the eggs a few at a time. Scrape down bowl. Decrease to speed 1. Add the sugar, cornmeal and salt and mix to combine. Add the pulsed corn, parsley and scallions. The last 4 ingredients are added once the base is finished by folding in lightly. Chill overnight or until firm. Heat a pot of canola oil to 350 degrees, and using a 1 oz. ice cream scoop, scoop the hushpuppies into the oil and fry till golden brown. Check the seasoning and adjust with salt if needed. Serve these with the cane syrup butter and dust with some powdered sugar.

Sticky, Smokey Beef Rib

From your butcher purchase a nice center cut, bone in beef rib. It should weigh just over two pounds.

For the Rib

1 2# beef rib

1-tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1-tablespoon black pepper

3-tablespoon salt

2-tablespoon sugar

Season the beef rib with the ingredients listed above and let it sit for at last 4 hours. Then smoke the beef following the instructions for your smoker until just tender but not falling apart. It should still have some give to it. Once tender, you will want to start basting the rib with the glaze recipe listed below.

The glaze

½ cup soy

½ cup gochujang

1 oz. ginger sliced thin

1oz. garlic sliced thin

1 cup reduced beef base

Place all the ingredients in a pot and reduce by 1/3 over a low heat. This will be the glaze for the short rib.

For the Thai Herbs

1-cup mint tips

1cup cilantro tips

1-cup Thai basil tips

1 cup sprouts

For the watermelon pickles

1 cup distilled vinegar

1-cup sugar

3 leaves kefir lime

1 oz. ginger

1 Thai chili

1 # watermelon rinds peeled, some of the pink flesh remaining, cut into long strips that are one inch thick

Place all of the ingredients except the watermelon in a pot and bring to a simmer. Once the sugar is dissolved pour the hot liquid over the watermelon rind (that has been peeled) and allow to stand for at least two hours before serving.

To serve, place the short rib on a large platter and garnish with the Thai herbs, pickled watermelon rind, shaved cucumbers, chopped toasted peanuts, and some warm roti or naan bread from your favorite Indian food restaurant or store.

Shrimp a la Plancha

For the sauce:

2 cup coconut milk

½ cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp kimchee base

2 Tbsp hot bean sauce

1 Tbsp mangda chili paste

Zest of one lime

The juice of two limes

1 Tbsp micro planed garlic

1 Tbsp micro planed ginger

¼ cup palm sugar

Place all of the ingredients in a saucepot and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Set aside till you are ready to use.

For the Shrimp

15 large U 10 head on gulf shrimp (peel the bodies, but leave the heads intact, devein)

1-tablespoon salt

1-tablespoon sugar

1-teaspoon black pepper

1-teaspoon paprika

3-tablespoon butter

In a hot skillet roast the shrimp quickly in the butter. The shrimp will / should cook extremely quickly with the sugar on them. Do not turn your back on the pan. Once the shrimp are roasted ladle some of the lime broth over them. Garnish with some Thai herbs, a slice of lime and some buttered toast immediately.

Charred Brussels sprouts

For the bacon agro dolce

1# bacon that has been ground up or finely diced

2 thinly sliced shallots

3 cloves chopped garlic

3 tablespoons mustard

1-cup maple syrup

1-cup sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon freshly ground cumin

2 sprigs of thyme

Render down Bacon, and then strain off 2/3 of the fat and reserve for another use. Put the cooked bacon back in the same pot and sweat down the shallots and garlic for 6 minutes. Add maple syrup, sherry and mustard to the pot and reduce by half. Set to the side to cool.

For the braised pork belly

2# fresh pork belly

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons pepper

3 cups chicken broth

4 sprigs thyme

Season the pork belly two hours prior to cooking and roast in a 400-degree oven until golden. 15-20 minutes. Then add the thyme and broth and cover and cook until tender. 2 more hours. Allow to cool overnight and then dice into one-inch cubes.

For the Brussels sprouts

1# Brussels sprouts cut in half

3 cups EVOO

5 strips of orange zest peel

3 sprigs of fresh mint

6 oz. of braised pork belly that has been cut into one-inch cubes

½ of the juice of one lime

In a large pot for frying, heat the EVOO to 350 degrees (Do not use the good stuff, you can always substitute canola oil). Fry the Brussels and the pork belly until golden and just soft, remove them from the oil and drain on paper towels. Toss them with the peels of orange zest, limejuice, fresh mint and 3 ounces of the bacon agro dolce. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Spiced Apple Cake

6c all-purpose flour

1T baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1T ground cinnamon

¾ tsp teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves

2 ¼ cups unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature

3 ¾ cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

6 cups cinnamon applesauce

1T light brown sugar

For the Frosting:

2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ tsp vanilla bean paste

¼ teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups cream cheese, soft

For the Soaking Syrup:

1c sugar

3/ 4 cup water

5 allspice berries

GOOD TO KNOW!!!

Bake cake in a FULL SIZED sheet tray. Measure out 2950g apple cake batter and spread onto parchment lined and sheet tray sprayed with nonstick spray. Smooth out with offset and bake until springs back when touched.

Make the Cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Spray sheet tray with nonstick, line with parchment, spray parchment with nonstick thoroughly.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Using a mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on low for an additional 30 seconds to combine.

Make the Frosting:

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and paste, and salt on low speed until smooth, then mix for an additional 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-low and add the cream cheese one piece at a time and mix until smooth, then mix for an additional 2 minutes.

For the Syrup:

combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. continue to cook until the sugar is dissolved. let cool to room temperature. brush on cake after portioning to prevent it from drying out.

Caramel Sauce

1 ¼ cups sugar

½ tsp cream of tartar

3/4 c water

1c cream

½ tsp kosher salt

Heat your cream but do not bring it to a boil. Set aside. In large pot combine sugar, tartar, and water. Cook to medium colored amber color. Take off heat, slowly whisk in hot cream and salt. Strain.

Dutch Pie Crunch Topping

1 stick or ½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

1 2/3 cups bread flour

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Zest of 1/2 orange

1 tsp salt

Combine the butter and sugar and mix. Add the orange zest and salt. Add the flour and cinnamon and mix to combine...mixture should still be chunky and not smooth...sandy with some larger clumps.