Philip Shyatt, executive chef of the Nashville location of this two-unit restaurant (the other is in Franklin, Tenn.), said this dish is inspired by his mother’s cooking. His father was a Division 1 basketball coach and she experimented a lot to find ways to feed his team.
“This one captured my attention at a very young age,” he said. “This is a beautiful example of how ingredients will speak for themselves.”
Shyatt starts making the dish by baking peeled and cored sweet onions with butter and salt until they are slightly browned. He then wraps the onions in foil pouches with butter and garlic, slowly roasts them until tender, then lets them cool.
He warms butter and cognac in a sauté pan, adds slices of Asian pear and cooks them until slightly caramelized. He flambées the pan and finishes the pears with brown sugar and a pinch of salt.
Shyatt stuffs the cooked onions with goat cheese and the caramelized pear slices and reheats them to serve. He charges $12 for the dish.
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