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Archive for the ‘seasonal menu’ Category
Monday, March 12th, 2012
If…I mean when…you go to Manresa, because you should, you’ll get two menus. One is a normal menu with dishes listed with ingredients. The other is an alphabetical list of ingredients for the “seasonal and spontaneous” chef’s tasting menu. You won’t know what will be together, in what dish, in what order, but you will know the general items that will be appearing on your plate over the course of the evening.
My husband’s evening started with a roasted red bell pepper pate de fruit with an olive madeleine. That was not for me given that bell peppers and olives are two things I detest but they knew that…I gave them my card! :)
The first thing I got was a mint sorbet in a lavender gelato. It was pretty, it was flavorful but those two flavors for me are gum and soap. It was beautifully executed and I ate/drank the whole thing…all the while saying, “Hmm…gum and soap.” This was not a miss in my book, just my weirdness.
The highlight of the whole dinner, the dish that still has us talking about it, was the Abalone with local milk panna cotta, abalone gelee and radish. I am not a fan of the texture of a huge blob of panna cotta but this was a thin, amazing layer, with a thin amazing layer of gelee (another thing I’m not typically wowed by) and crunchy, thin radishes and delicious thin slices of abalone. It was beautiful, creamy, salty, I wanted to order it for dessert.
The black radishes with savory granola were served on this gorgeous, wavy plate that had me chasing the dish around these little grooves but I’m not ashamed to used my fingers to mop up the last of the luscious saucy goodness. The granola in this had us longing for it the next morning. I hate sweet granola but I’m thinking maybe I should try my hand at making some savory instead!
A few years ago, every time I would eat a scallop, all I could taste was a metallic flavor. Like chomping into a piece of tin foil. Logically, that got me to stop ordering or cooking scallops and they used to be a favorite of mine. The only scallops I’ve had that I’ve enjoyed since then were raw at fancy sushi bars. That is until Saturday night. This one had that buttery flavor and caramelly sear that I so remembered and didn’t think I’d enjoy again. Along with the scallop were gorgeous pieces of asparagus (it must be Spring!!) and a scallop chip that I wanted a whole dish of.
Another dish that completely surprised me that I truly enjoyed was the slow-poached egg with toasted brioche and sweet onion soup. Runny eggs aren’t my thing but when added to a soup with the same or similar texture, the yolk just added a … not a depth of flavor, something else that means that!…to it…a richness…destination: another level. Now I understand why people like runny yolks! They’re quite sumptuous.
Black cod, aka Sablefish or Butterfish, is one of my favorite local delicacies. David layered every local “black” ingredient: Black cod, black truffle, black trumpet. Earthy and beautiful.
For the next course, the item on the menu was pork belly with blood sausage. I couldn’t do it…I might be able to do a blind tasting of blood sausage but I haven’t gotten to a point that I can knowingly dive into that yet…give me time, I’ll get there. My husband had it and said it was great. Instead I had duck with farro and was not at all disappointed in my substitution! The flavors were amazing. I do however like more fat rendered out and a crispier skin on my duck. Still, I enjoyed the course.
I’ve always liked the “What grows together, goes together” saying but that goes right out the window when you get Lamb with seaweed. Who knew?! Well, this surfer chef did. Maybe inspired by a beach barbecue? I don’t know. But the combination of lamb, seaweed, roasted garlic and charred green onions was great.
The cheese course came around which I obviously skipped but my husband picked out four and was struck dumb by the combination of Pim‘s marmalade and the roquefort cheese. He just kept pointing and saying, “That…..that…”
You may know that I am a huge fan of candy cap mushrooms. They’re maple goodness makes for the best cookies and ice cream. What I did not know what that you could pair candy cap ice cream with sunchokes (which are in my opinion bitterly vile things) and have it be such a magical combination. The sunchoke chips were bitter, salty and crunchy. The ice cream was rich and creamy, the doughnut hole (sure it had a fancy name, but it was a doughnut hole) was sweet and yeasty. A bite with all three components hit every sensory part of the tongue. Each component made stronger by the presence of the others.
Our waitress, Amanda I believe, was fun and accomodating and would have been as formal as we wanted her to be but of course we don’t go for that. The sommelier got the premier pairings spot on. He even helped me decipher a flavor I was getting in one of the wines that was driving me absolutely crazy because I couldn’t pinpoint it. We finally decided it was chervil and I’m sticking with that so I don’t go insane trying to figure it out. The general manager, Bobi, came and chatted with us for a while. We’ll be taking the same class from Pim in a couple of months. He was an excellent host. And Pim tipped David off that we were coming so he graciously came out to our table and talked with us a bit. We got to rave about the abalone and prod him about going to the Cayman Cookout next year. I hope it happens! We need some Bay Area representation there.
We’re looking at our calendars to plan our next dinner there. We need to hit another season, we did Spring last trip there too…oops! Summer next!
Posted in decadence, dinner, flavor, food, Michelin star, photos, restaurant, review, seasonal menu, table dance, tasting menu, wine | No Comments »
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Posted in chanterelles, cumin, dinner, flavor, food, hardcore, mushrooms, organic, photos, seasonal menu, table dance, wine | No Comments »
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
The first real day of the Cookout began at 10am. As Jose Andres put it, “Who puts a cooking class at 10am?! You start a cooking class at 3pm so you have the day sleep and then do your things…then cook!” But he didn’t seem to be slowed by the early start. As Dana Cowin was introducing him for demonstration, she was wondering where he was. As she was saying, “He has got to be here somewhere…” he came bounding on the stage straight out of the ocean in his scuba gear with his ten year old daughter. He is a character to say the least. We were all seated in a tent with the people who payed extra with their American Express Platinum Cards having the preferred seats in the front rows. He undid all that (hilariously) by getting everyone up and out into the blazing sun on the beach, around ENORMOUS paella pans over fires built in the sand. He immediately started hollering for volunteers: 2 people for each pan to stir and add ingredients, 4 people to help make the cocktails, 3 people to grill oysters…go go go!!!
 
The fires were hot. The sun was hot. His sous chefs were in jeans. I thought they were going to pass out but they have to be strong to work for this guy. The dish he was making was called Fideo. It’s like paella but made with pasta instead of rice. Much easier to control the outcome of when cooking for 100 people over open flames on a beach! Pork ribs, tomatoes, pasta (short angel hair), lobster, broth. Everyone was sweating like mad in the heat of the day and the fires but the cocktails started flowing. Fruit, mint, champagne…a beautiful, refreshing way to begin drinking at 10am!!
 
I stood next to Dana Cowin and shamelessly plugged my web site. All the while Jose is running around like a madman and then puts a song on the PA, passes around lyrics and has us all sing along. He is amazing and the food was phenomenal. He’s completely insane and a blast to see cook.
Our next ticket was for a Behind the Scenes tour of Blue by Eric Ripert. They don’t ever just call it “Blue”, it is always “Blue by Eric Ripert”. That was making me laugh.
 
Anyway, we arrived and grabbed a front row seat. Luis Lujan is the Executive Chef at Blue (by Eric Ripert) and walked us through the preparation of the dishes we’d be having for lunch. The first was wahoo. If you ever have a chance to eat wahoo, DO IT! This is an incredible fish. It looks like hamachi but it melts in your mouth. He cut it perfectly, seared in perfectly and dressed it perfectly. I would expect no less. Eric popped in to say hello and then we all got a brief tour of the kitchen. It’s not a huge kitchen and in 2 days time would be filled with the world’s best chefs making 164 plates each for the Gala Dinner. Incredible.
  
We then sat on the patio for our lovely lunch. The wine flows continuously at these events. I’m amazed I could walk but something happens on these sorts of adventures and what would result in me being horizontal at home is just par for the course as the weekend goes on. Probably not healthy but this is not an every day occurence.
 
The afternoon treated us to a demo by April Bloomfield of which I only got to catch the end. Then a beautiful green curry ceviche by Laurent Gras. I was so ridiculously full by this point, I was scared of what Laurent was going to present but it was so light and refreshing that it was more like a cocktail with some fish in it than a meal. It was almost a palate cleanser. He took the ingredients of a green curry but instead of making it a heavy dish full of coconut milk, he used coconut water and created a light ceviche. Something I will definitely try at home.
The first of the epic evening events was the Barefoot BBQ at Tiki Beach. They had a shuttle running from the hotel to the event but it was a whopping 2km away, on the beach, we decided to walk. Really for two reasons: one, we were already so full, we needed to work up an appetite and two, we had to pick up our son from his amazing camp at the hotel before the shuttles were going to be running at the end of the event and we needed to time the walk. What a beautiful way to get to the BBQ. I’m so glad we did that. We didn’t have to wait in line with anxious rich folks who complain if things aren’t exactly as they think they should be, we were walking along the white sandy beach of Grand Cayman at dusk. You can’t beat that.
We arrived at Tiki Beach and it was crazy-busy. Our first stop was Tony Bourdain’s station and some sumptuous pork. He’s still got it man. He may be more known for traveling and writing now but 28 years in the kitchen doesn’t just vanish. He makes a mean pig. We worked our way to the complete opposite end of the venue and found Jose Andres being loud and hilarious as usual as his chefs carved thin slices of Jamon Iberico. I will never be able to eat prosciutto again now that I’ve experienced Iberico. Dryer, saltier, damn it was good. It was atop some sliced beef. So now I’ve had pork, I’ve had beef with pork on top and we waltz over to Eric Ripert’s station where he’s serving beef tenderloin. Why not?! Pork, beef and pork, beef….so full. I thought I made a damn fine tenderloin but, as usual, Eric takes it beyond.
We found a table in the back near Jose Andres and relaxed with our plates for a bit. We got to visit with some fabulous people. I wasn’t sure how the attendees would be at this. There is a lot of money here obviously. And there are some people that have more money than I could ever imagine having and are real snots about it. They have their Gucci and Valentino clothes shipped to them to try on because they live an hour from the Galleria and that’s just too damn inconvenient for shopping. Just one example. But the people we visited with at the BBQ were all wonderful. One woman was a coordinator for the event. One couple had been before but brough his mom this year from Michigan. There were a lot of Canadians representing. Maybe because of Paul Rogalski being there or maybe becuase it’s usually 25 below this time of year and it’s a great escape.
After a few nibbles of dessert we headed back to the beach and walked back to the hotel under the stars….many more stars than we get to see in our neck of the woods. Mars was so bright it was reflecting off the ocean. Amazing.
Read about Day 1 and Day 3!
Posted in celebrity, decadence, eric ripert, flavor, food, Le Bernardin, photos, seasonal menu, table dance | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
To call this a review would be ludicrous. The meal was perfect. I got to meet Eric Ripert. I was a giddy, squealing ’60s Beatles fan girl. You should have seen me! I maintained for my conversation with him but I was jumping up and down once I got outside. I have met many-a-famous-person. I’m a fan girl. I stay after concerts and booksignings in the off chance I’ll get to say hi and take a picture. Never has a rockstar or author had this effect on me. I think it’s because Eric Ripert does something I would love to do: cook seafood *perfectly*.
We were seated near the kitchen and I immediately asked if I could peek inside. I’ve made the mistake of waiting until after the meal and the multiple glasses of wine to head into the kitchen and I’m a bumbling, drunk idiot. So, sober tour for me this time please!
Unfortunately, Chef Ripert wasn’t in the kitchen yet. But it was such a different space than other kitchens, notably the French Laundry. When we went into that kitchen I felt like if I breathed too loudly, I would ruin a dish. In the Le Bernardin kitchen there was a lot of movement and, not chaos, but constant motion. But the chefs (ranking designated by the blue baseball caps) all looked up and acknowledged us, said hello, looked like they were enjoying themselves.
They’re enjoyment came through in every bite. First off, I have to say how much I loved coming to a 3-Michelin star/4-NY Times star restaurant and being given a SPORK! How awesome is that?! The star of the first 3 bites was the fluke. In On the Line it states they can’t take the fluke away, too many patrons would complain. I agree. I made one of the marinades the other night and it was delightful (I used filet of sole, we don’t get fluke here).
Every dish was magic.
CAVIAR – WAGYU
Nebraska Wagyu Beef; Langoustine and Osetra Caviar Tartare
Black Pepper-Vodka Crème Fraîche, Pomme Gaufrette
Champagne Dom Ruinart 1998
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The *only* complaint I had of the entire meal was the smokiness of the dashi gelee. I only ate a very small percentage of the gelee on the plate. The gelee itself was fine but the ratio was off to me. If I had all the gelee, it would have been overpowering.
TUNA
Ultra Rare Yellowfin Tuna; Spiced Dashi Gelée
Green Peppercorn – Iberico Chutney
Yuki no Bosha, Yamahai Junmai, Akita
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Anytime we go to a fancy-pants place like this, I try to get the waitstaff to relax with us. We aren’t uptight. We’d like this food on a plastic table with folding chairs…I don’t care about ambiance and rituals. Every course that came out required a new set of silverware. Including the trowel-like knife which never got used because all the fish was like butter. Every time they brought a new one I laughed! Finally I said, “Seriously, leave the knife!” And he laughed as well and said, “I can’t, it’s my job security, what do you think they’re paying me for?!” He was great.
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LOBSTER
Warm Lobster in a Rosé Champagne Nage
Currant Tomatoes and Hearts of Palm
Chablis, “Vieilles Vignes”, Domaine Savary, Burgundy 2009
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SALMON
Barely Cooked Wild Salmon; Asparagus “Risotto”, Smoked Pistachio Pesto
Château Grillet, Neyret-Gachet, Rhône Valley 2005
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Every dish that came out was amazing but I think the winner of the night was the black bass. It was so wonderfully salty and the mini pork bun was right out of Din Tai Fung in Sydney (my favorite place there!). All elegance and table manners went out the window for me, I was lapping every drop up with my finger.
BLACK BASS
Crispy Black Bass; Lup Cheong and Beansprout
Mini Pork Buns, Hoisin – Plum Jus
Rioja Reserva,Viña Bosconia, Lopez de Heredia, Spain 2003
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KING FISH
“Barbecued” King Fish; Marinated Mango and Napa Cabbage
Sancocho Broth
Barolo, Mirafiore, Piedmont, Italy 2007
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I cook a lot of fish. At least once if not twice a week. I don’t know how he does it. I could take the same ingredients and they would taste good, but not like this. The fish truly is the star of the plate.
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CITRUS
Lime Parfait, Meringue, Avocado Purée, Mint, Grapefruit – Tequila Sorbet
Poire Granit, Pear Cider, Eric Bordelet, France
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CHOCOLATE-TEA
Dark Chocolate Cremeux, Cocoa Pain de Genes, Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream
Pineau des Charrentes Cask No. 2, Paul Marie & Fils
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After the meal, my husband wanted an after-dinner drink so we migrated to the lounge to free up the table. They brought us, what I later found out, is a signature dish of theirs, the chocolate-caramel Egg. It’s in my cookbook but I’ve literally never looked at the dessert section…not my thing. I was so full at that point but the egg was also amazing (tired of that word yet?)
It was then that Chef Ripert walked by…I said hi and that’s when the giddiness hit. I was happy with that but my husband asked the maitre d’ if we could meet and take a photo with Eric. They escorted us back to the kitchen and there he was…just standing there. Squeee! He was so incredibly nice and accommodating. I got to tell him I’m a huge fan, not from Avec Eric or the appearances on Top Chef but from his cook book. Once I started making his recipes I became a big fan. He turned to my husband then and said, “So you get the benefit of this then?” :)
Then he had us move over for a picture so we’d have the kitchen behind us. The photo is now one of my prized possessions. And we got to tell him we’d be seeing him at his Cayman Cookout event in January (on my birthday!). It’s going to be the most amazing birthday EVER!
I know I put the picture at the beginning of the post but it’s worth a second look…it’s me with ERIC RIPERT!!!
Posted in ahi, amuse bouche, chocolate, decadence, dinner, eric ripert, food, Le Bernardin, Michelin star, photos, restaurant, restaurants, review, Salmon, seasonal menu, table dance, tasting menu, wine | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Greens
Fort Mason, Building A
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-771-6222
 Spring Rolls A friend and I were meeting up to see Tim Minchin at the Palace of Fine Arts…Brilliant show by the way. We needed food first so she got us into Greens at the last minute. I thought I hadn’t been there but as soon as I parked and started heading past the harbor boats I had a de ja vu. Yeah, I’d been there but it had been years and years and I think we were there for lunch. I really don’t recall anything about the meal then so this was a brand new experience!
 Sampler Plate We ordered a number of things and split them all, starting with the Spring Rolls (with grilled tofu, carrots, jicama, Thai basil, mint and rice noodles. Served with hoisin, grilled shiitake, beech mushroom and radish salad). These were good but I’m going to rename them Mint Spring Rolls…not a subtle flavor.
The sampler was great because we could easily split the things between what I like and don’t like! My friend got the beet salad, olives and marinated Yarra Valley feta, we shared the taboulleh, grilled artichoke, mummous and pita. All very tasty.
 Paparadelle wiht Peas The Green Gulch Lettuce and Little Gems salad (with Hidden Star Orchard cherries, Point Reyes Original Blue, slow roasted almonds and golden balsamic vinaigrette) was lovely and the cherries were a nice addition.
The Pappardelle with snap, snow and English peas, pine nuts, spring onions, meyer lemon butter and chives tasted like spring. I know it’s July but we had winter here through June so we’re just getting our spring! It was wonderful to have pine nuts again. I haven’t had them in ages since there is apparently a shortage although that’s hard to believe when I drive around California surrounded by pine trees! I know, they’re from a certain type of pine…but still! I miss them.
The dishes at Greens aren’t complicated. They aren’t piled with a million conflicting flavors. They are vegetarian. They are flavorful, fresh, seasonal, beautiful. You can’t beat the view—the boats in the harbor with a peek at the Golden Gate behind them if the fog lifts enough.
Parking can be a challenge if there is event at Fort Mason but if there’s not, the large parking lot should have a space available somewhere. I love that Greens set the standard for locally source, vegetarian fare *years* ago and it still going strong. It’s a classic.
Posted in dinner, food, organic, pasta, restaurant, review, San Francisco, seasonal menu, table dance | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
I host a soup night, ideally once a month, but really it happens when we have a free weekend night. I make a huge pot of soup, customized each time for the number of people coming and the allergies/preferences/aversions of the guests. It’s really, really fun and it gives us a way to actually get together with our friends regularly even when life is hectic. It’s a different group of people each time…and if there is every a time that everyone on the invite list can show up, I’m not sure what we’ll do, our house isn’t nearly big enough!
This time I live-tweeted the making of the soup, just for fun. A sort of step-by-step recipe without instructions! This is enough soup for 16-18 people.
3 onions:
 Onions 4-5 quarts chicken stock simmering on the back burner:
 Chicken Stock Simmering 3-4 carrots (mulitcolored, they looked cool!):
 Added Carrots 1 fennel bulb and 4 stalks celery:
 Fennel and Celery Cooking all that stuff down, entertaining myself with the camera:
 Waiting for veggies to cook down 4 yellow potatoes:
 Potatoes will go in next 3/4 bottle white wine and 6 cloves garlic:
 Added white wine and garlic One bunch kale, somewhat “julienned”…I’d say finely shredded:
 Shredded Kale 6 small zucchini:
 Zucchini Snap peas, halved:
 Lastly, snap peas In there with the zucchini went 3 cans of cannellini beans and then the soup was ladeled over spaghetti that I broke in half before boiling (so it would be possible to eat it with a spoon!)
To serve it was first pasta, then soup, pesto on top of that (basil-walnut-lots of lemon), and for everyone but me, shredded parmesean.
 Topped with pesto for serving Yum.
Tags: soup
Posted in amateur, dinner, flavor, food, organic, pesto, photos, potato, recipe, recipes, santa cruz, seasonal menu, zucchini | No Comments »
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
I thought the last dinner was good. This one was better. Not that there was anything missing from the first one, I just felt that this one stepped it up.
 Arriving and mingling We went with 4 friends and they hired a driver to take us to and from the dinner so much more wine was consumed than at the last event. So much so, I forgot the menu there and I don’t have all the details of this meal! Therefore, this will be more of a photo tour of the evening.
 A rundown from Jim and Leah We gathered around to hear from Jim and Leah and then we headed around the farm to meet the goats and chickens, see the variety of crops and check out the original apple trees from 100 years ago.
 On the farm tour  The source of the goat cheese Surrounding the entire farm is a deer fence. The farm bumps right up to the Soquel hills so without the fence, the deer would destroy the farm. They still have to contend with coyotes, mountain lions and gophers, but at least the fence dissuades the deer!
 Rows of crops meld into the tree line  300 chickens live here We wrapped up the tour and were lead down to an amazing table setting. We sat along the creek, it was absolutely gorgeous.
 The table is set up by Soquel creek The first course featured farm grown spinach and beets and was topped with goat cheese made from the goats we’d just met.
 Spinach with Goat cheese and beets It’s amazing the kitchen setup they have out in the woods. Backwoods gourmet at its finest!
 The smell of the outdoor kitchen wafts down to the diners The shellfish dish was the highlight of the dinner (not that there were any lows!). We got loaf after loaf of bread to soak up the amazing broth the clams, mussels and squid were in. It was heavenly. I could have had nothing but this all night and been a happy foodie.
 Shellfish and squid stew with crusty bread There was a course in between here of perfectly cooked, lick every bit from your finger, gorgeous quail. So good, I forgot to pull out my camera….I would have gotten quail juice on it anyway.
And dessert by candlelight was scrumptious strawberry shortcake.
 Strawberry shortcake for dessert The whole dinner was paired with wines from Testa Rossa vineyards and Corralitos Brewing Company beer. I even enjoyed the pink wine…it was my least favorite of the evening but I still liked it!
Good food, good friends, good times. Life’s mantra.
Posted in dinner, farmers market, flavor, food, fruit, gardening, organic, photos, santa cruz, seasonal menu, spinach, squid, table dance, tasting menu | No Comments »
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
Charlie Trotter’s
816 West Armitage
Chicago, Illinois 60614
773 248-6228
 Brioche You had me at the bread. Lost me for a bit with the chicken foot but got me right back with the morels.
That’s the meal in twitter format, now for the rest of the story.
 Confit of Ivory King Salmon I have to be totally honest here, the meal got off to a bit of a slow start. The Confit of Ivory King Salmon with Fennel and Star Anise was nice but I thought it needed a touch more salt. There wasn’t anything
wrong with it per se, it just wasn’t revelatory. The salmon was remarkably pale. Poured with this was a non-vintage Champagne Billecart-Salmon Extra Brut. It tasted like Martinelli’s sparkling apple cider. More so with every sip.
 Poularde with Rhubarb and Chicken Foot Then the Milkfed Poularde with Braised Rhubarb, Cilantro and Toasted Sesame arrived…adorned with a deep fried chicken foot….the whole thing was room temperature. I really don’t think it was supposed to be, and if it was, it shouldn’t be. The rhubarb was sweet and I’m not usually big on sweet things with my meat in general unless it’s done perfectly and interestingly. I ate it, foot and all, but did not enjoy the dish. The wine was Greek: Domaine Skouras, Moscofilero, Pelopennese 2010. Very floral…to the point of tasting like hotel soap. With my sample of one Greek wine, at this point, I’m not rushing to Greece for a wine tour. I was worried. Usually restaurants tend to wow me with their first 2-3 courses and lose me with their mains. This was not a good start.
 Halibut with Arugula Blossom, Artichoke I shouldn’t have been worried. Next up was the Steamed Halibut with Arugula Blossom, Purple Artichoke and Wild Caper Vinaigrette. This was beautiful. Perfectly cooked, nice salinity, sauced so well I mopped the last of the sauce up with my fingers. The sauvignon blanc this was paired with (Scholium Project “La Severitaa di Bruto-Farina Vineyards” 2009) was pleasant and crisp and a welcome change from the Greek calamity. It’s an experiment out of UC Davis. A successful experiment.
 Rabbit Loin with Morels The rabbit. OH THE RABBIT!! I am not a big fan of rabbit. I grew up in a 4-H town, lots of people raised bunnies. I never found the flavor very interesting. Usually a bit like chicken but less meat to work with. The Arkansas Rabbit Loin with Morel Mushroom, Endive and Rye was incredible. The morels were the first I’ve had this year so that was a treat to my hard-core food porn self. The demiglace was rich and the cumin crackers should be sold to me in large boxes. Every week, ship me more! This dish was paired with a beautiful, and actually light-bodied, 2005 Vosne-Romanee Maison Champy. I would have thought it would be too light for the richness of the dish but it really worked.
 Lamb with Porcini Before showing up, I’d given the restaurant my list of aversions. I was beginning to think they browsed this site and found my favorite things to substitute. The Elysian Fields Lamb was made NOT for me. It was supposed to have Smoked Red Pepper, Chickpea Pannise and Kalamata Olive. BLECH! Mine came out with a pristine, fresh porcini! IN JUNE! Apparently from Oregon…craziness. The substitution couldn’t have been more spot on.
The palate cleanser was Prickly Pear Sorbet with Nopales and Campari Jelly. Man, was the campari bitter! One little bite of that stuck with me for a while. The sorbet was lovely but I couldn’t shake the bitter jelly taste for a good long while.
 Chocolate Brioche with Maple Ice Cream and Caramelized Popcorn The Chocolate Brioche with Reduced Maple Ice Cream and Caramelized Popcorn was great. I wouldn’t have called it a brioche, it was more dense than that but that wasn’t a problem. There was some sort of foam on top…not a fan of foam, looks like spittle bug goo. I could have done without it, it didn’t add anything to the dish. The popcorn was good and crunchy and not too stick-in-your-teethy.
 Cookies and treats My favorite part of the dessert courses though was the tiny little marshmallow on the cookies plate. Lots of vanilla flavor, wonderful texture, so fresh and beautiful.
My husband (Disclaimer: he roasts his own coffee beans and has become a huge coffee snob) got a cappuccino and was disappointed in the over-roasted bean flavor. I got green tea and that was nice :)
Overall we had a wonderful meal. I would definitely go back. We sat next to two Navy sailors in their dress whites (Hey! They didn’t have to wear a jacket!). They were so far from the stereotype of sailors. For one, they were at Charlie Trotter’s and secondly, they were discussing Chinese Opera with the waitress. Loved it!
The waitstaff was all very attentive without being stuffy and hover-y. We visited with the woman at the bar after our meal while we were waiting for our ride and had a wonderful conversation about Mexico, mexican food, various alcohols and traveling. I never know what the attitude of these places will be when we go, especially when there is a jacket required, but it was a lovely evening.
Posted in dinner, flavor, restaurant, restaurants, review, seasonal menu, table dance, tasting menu | No Comments »
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
I was very excited for my first Outstanding in the Field dinner. I tried to get tickets last year and it sold out too quickly, I missed out. This year I booked 3 events to make up for it! I wish I could do more but our calendar is not cooperating with that idea.
So, we arrive at the event, get dropped off by a shuttle and walk through the farm and up a hill to a beautiful view of the bay and the farm. They’re wandering around with appetizers that they are preparing in front of us as well and pouring Soquel Vineyards Sauvingon Blanc…a beautiful wine after a warm walk.
The crab appetizer was my favorite: Dungeness crab with Companion Bakers sourdough crackers (it had asparagus..and other yumminess!). My husband raved about the Marinated beets with Almond ash.
 We chatted with some of the other diners. Planted ourselves near the prep table so as to nab appetizers when they came out…sneaky we are ;-)
After a few announcements and introductions, we split into groups and headed out on a tour of the farm. Apples, grapes, veggies, pigs, chickens, they’ve got it all. The chickens control pests and provide fertilizer for the soil as well as eggs and meat for the CSA. They have a house full of cute little chicks and rotate the areas the full-sized chickens graze in. The pigs get moved around as well and right now the priority is shade. Poor HUGE Daisy is pregnant and looking for all the shade she can find! We continued around the farm getting the lowdown on the crop rotation, the benefits of the animals, the variety of vegetables and fruit being grown and a preview of things we were about to get on our plates.
Then we headed to the apple orchard that had been converted into a fine dining experience. The tables looked amazing. The view was breathtaking.
The other tour groups straggled in, we picked our seats and began to visit, eat, drink, question, chat, advise. We happened to end up sitting at the table with the farmers which was, of course, lovely. We learned a lot and just had fun with them in general.
The first dishes to come out was grilled green garlic with artichokes and wilted fava leaves, charred shallots, and smoky fava beans. All really wonderful. I especially enjoyed the wilted fava leaves since this is something you normally don’t get unless you grow favas.
 
Next out was squid with black butter (not squid ink, brown butter pushed past brown…but not bitter or burnt flavored. I don’t know how they did that), peas, asparagus, marinated green strawberries and wood sorrel. I always push the peas aside in dishes. I like peas by themselves and raw but usually don’t like them in dishes. I ate every last one of these.
The winner of the night thought was the smoked chicken. I get chicken from my CSA every two weeks and cook one the night I pick it up. I know how much better fresh chicken is. Then add to that the chef skills of these wonderful OTF folks and it is so…chickeny! I think people have forgotten what chicken is supposed to taste like…it’s this.
Then it got dark…no more pictures. And it got late. And we had our son at the neighbors on a school night. And we still had dessert. Luckily the dessert were scrump-diddly-umptious ice creams cones from Penny Ice Creamery and we could grab one and bolt to the shuttle to get our car and head home. We got one of each flavor: rose petal and strawberry pink peppercorn. I thought the rose petal was great…until I tried the strawberry! It was even better! They really make *the* best ice cream. We were stuffed and had no problem finishing both of these!
I can’t wait for our next Outstanding in the Field event in June!
Posted in chicken, dinner, farmers market, food, gardening, organic, potato, santa cruz, seasonal menu, table dance, tasting menu | No Comments »
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