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Poached Egg:
-egg poached @57C, Vermont maple syrup, chives, whipped cream, sea salt.
Much have been said about this preparation - it's nothing new, but it's still a hit. The preparation pictured is identical to that of Manresa, described and pictured by ulterior epicure.
One of the ladies at my dinner table said: "I could eat twelve more of these...", which is exactly how an amuse should be, I think.
Please take a look at the entire Dinner in Sioux Falls picture set.
I loved this vintage.Opening with expressive notes of blackberry, cherry and cassis, this wine is full-bodied and rich. Hints of chocolate and espresso layer with spicy oak for added complexity. Smooth tannins infused with ripe sweet fruit create a lush, supple texture. Rich waves of berry, spice and herbs create a lasting impression of finesse and structure in this Cabernet.
Ahhh, pre-dessert...
Again, credits are due: this sorbet is inspired by Le Bristol Pre-dessert pictured by ulterior epicure.
This dish is Citrus Medley of Ruby and Yellow grapefruits, Ugli Fruit, Blood Orange, Sasuma Oranges and Clementines, Hibiscus Soup and Grapefruit-Campari Sorbet, Baked Meringue garnish.
This was an excellent palate cleanser: light, not too sweet, not too bitter, refreshing, yet satisfying. Sorbet needs to be a lot creamier, (I got to upgrade my pathetic $24 ice cream maker - OMG, it is a New Year resolution!), but it tasted really good as is.
Utilizing the ingredients left over from last night's dinner...
Pasta two ways:
red - (bronze die) tagliatelle tossed with a tomato/red savina habanero sauce with shavings of parmigiano reggiano and sweet basil
white - tagliatelle with coarse black pepper, sea salt, anchovies, and olive oil
tossed salad: mixed baby greens, sliced baby tomatoes, vidalia and red onions, and baby bell peppers tossed with olive oil and toasted herbes de provence with sweet basil
bruchetta: toasted rustic bread with roasted garlic, toasted herbes de provence, and sea salt
dessert: cubed magoes with a cointreau and partially evaporated basalmic vinegar dressing.
served with a 2000 Buena Vista Caneros Reserve cabernet
August 30, 2005
Tripe with Orange and Leeks.
I got an idea from photos by Sunday Driver. Tripe was cooked sous-vide with Sofrito, and served with orange and leeks.
This is my attempt to replicate almost identical dish I had at Casa Mono in NYC.
Minor differences: they used grapefruit - I used Pomelo, original dish calls for baby octopus to be flash cooked - I sous-vide mine, they use extra virgin olive oil for garnish - I used Spanish Chorizo oil. Overall the replica worked: Pomelo matches fennel better than grapefruit, in my opinion. However, advantage is clearly on the Casa Mono side - their dish just tasted better, for some reason.
This is a moment of pride and joy for me: ulterior epicure described the original dessert, which inspired this one as: "... A l'Ambroisie classic, this was entirely the consistency of very light souffle..." That is the very texture that I was trying to achieve, and, as you can see on the picture, it worked.
I used 72% Valrohna Chocolate, and an original French Recipe for Pate Sablee, which includes Almond-Sugar Flour. Next time I may substitute brown sugar for confectioner's sugar , although it certainly not necessary.
A quick after-work dinner prepared with fresh ingredients from a quick trip to Trader Joe's and Henry's Marketplace...
Sandwich:
A "hot and cold" sandwich - toasted rustic bread rubbed with roasted garlic on one side, with olive oil, whole leaf basil, and crumbled goat cheese on the other. One half had layers of prosciutto, (the "cold" side), the other half had carmelized vidalia onions and baby tomatoes with toasted herbes de provence stewed in a cabernet and basalmic vinegar reduction, (the "hot" side). Both sides were pressed together just before serving.
Salad:
A stack of halved baby tomatoes, mixed baby bell peppers, mixed baby greens with red onions, and crumbled goat cheese with toasted herbes de provence, pepper, sea salt, lime juice, and olive oil.
Served with a 2000 Buena Vista Caneros Reserve cabernet (thanks Steve!) and San Pellegrino.
Oh, and the Spiegelau stemware that you see here met it's end shortly after dinner was over. It's still sturdier and better priced than the Riedel...
Here's what came of the leftover ingredients...
Dinner at home
Aug. 29, 2005
Cooked soba noodles, before the rest of the soup ingredients were added.
The recipe suggested using a pair of tongs to twirl the noodles into a nest shape, but I couldn't find my tongs. I think it looks just as cool free form. :)
Simple and straightforward:
Toro, Lemon, Shiso, Daikon, Shichimi Togarashi, with a few twists - Pickled Cherries, Pickled Asian Pear.
Everything's alright - I expected this to happen when using the ami.
On the advice of my beef-loving sushi chef, (they happen to know a little something about food!), the best steaks can be found in the Japanese food markets. When asked what cut or grade, he simply advised to get the most expensive cut. So that's what I did, resulting in this heavily marbled rib eye. It was so thin and well-marbled that it took just a total of 1-1/2 minutes on the ami (Japanese fish grill). If this seems too short, it wasn't, and perhaps this photo illustrates why... Just sea salt and pepper was all that was needed for seasoning, and the results were great! (If only it was cut thicker... They were all cut very thin.)
The matsutake was also grilled on the same ami after being brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and coarse black pepper. It was then hand-torn into small shreds.
The bamboo charcoal was simply placed in the rice pot after first being cleaned and thoroughly boiled. They were then cooked together, and the resulting rice was served with the natto.
Dinner at home - don't worry, everything's alright!
Nov. 4, 2005