Month: November 2007

November 30, 2007

Wow

I am so very, very lucky to be able to head down to the city on short notice and have dinner at Kris & Ken’s house; they always have the best food, wine, and company possible and thus my gustatory horizons never fail to be widened. Wednesday night was no different. Herewith the summary: Aperitif: 2005 Wegeler riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Sea bass with daikon sprouts and olive-olive oil sauce 1997 Jose Michel Brut Champagne Salad…

November 27, 2007

It’s like Thanksgiving leftovers, but nothing on the plate is actually from that meal except the cranberry-wine reduction. The rest of it is a duck breast, seared in a pan, along with zucchini “latkes” and brown rice with kale cooked in the rendered fat (this is actually a zucchini picked AGES ago- before the first frost- and stored in the bottom of the fridge; I’ve slowly been using it up.) Meat juices and some of…

November 26, 2007

Fettucine. Salt pork. Quail eggs. Cheap chard from the fridge. Hit the spot.

November 24, 2007

The numbers: 8 adults, 11 courses, 7 bottles, 6 hours. The pictures: Duck and pear: Melons are long since out of season, so these are local organic red bartlett pears. This duck took about three months to cure, but was SOOOO worth the wait. Leek & Gruyère tart: A dribble of truffle oil and grating of Indonesian long pepper on top put this one into orbit. Celery root-leek-potato soup: Local milk, veggies from the garden,…

November 24, 2007

Home-cured duck prosciutto, red bartlett pear, maple-balsamic glaze Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru brut rosé Leek, gruyère, and pine nut tart Celery root-leek-potato soup 2001 Guigal Hermitage blanc Winter salad of mâche, claytonia, minutina Walnut-Sherry vinaigrette Kimchi juice-marinated diver scallop with braised pan di zucchero Quail egg, guanciale, kimchi, pan sauce 2001 Lucien Albrecht Gewurtztraminer Cuvée Marie Ham “ravioli” with squash-apple-walnut filling Clear squash consommé, togarashi Beef marrow bone Buckwheat “risotto”, beef-saffron reduction 1983 Joseph Drouhin Bonnes-Mares…

November 20, 2007

I think turkey is overrated. We can get good heirloom varieties up here, but lacking the means to deep-fry one or the patience to smoke one out in the cold and rain I’m opting out. Even smoked or fried it’s still pretty bland, and so big that you have to eat it for days after. To me, the holiday is about family, eating, and gratitude with a strong focus on seasonal ingredients, not about eating…

November 19, 2007

I got a couple of things done today, chief among which the ham ravioli- smoked ham glued together with activa and with a filling of acorn squash, apple, pine nuts, onion, ginger, spices, and an egg yolk. There were a few left, and some of the buckwheat mixture, which, like risotto, made great supplì with a bit of aged gruyère and an egg-cornmeal coating. So for an appetizer, to christen the new small plates (it’s…

November 18, 2007

For some reason, this came together perfectly- flavors, textures, and portion sizes were all just right. Crosscut lamb shanks braised with mirepoix and a bit of lemon and wine until they were nice and tender. Parsnip roasted with whole garlic, rosemary, oil, and coriander seeds until crispy/creamy (and so sweet after some frost.) Buckwheat “risotto” simmered with lemon, savory, marjoram, parsley and scallion. I tossed a winter salad of mâche, spinach, and some of the…

November 18, 2007

In a combined effort to make room in the fridge and also make us something healthy, I wrangled diverse leftovers into a decent egg drop soup for lunch. Scallops, tofu, chicken broth, liquid from half a can of tomatoes, garlic, ginger, scallions and two beaten eggs added up to something that did not taste at all like leftovers. I sprinkled some of the kabocha seed-togarashi gomasio I made yesterday for Thanksgiving on top to finish,…

November 17, 2007

One of the problems with Thanksgiving is that it’s easy to eat badly for days beforehand since all the time and effort in the kitchen are in the service of delayed gratification. So this evening, after much toil on prep, I whipped up a quick roux-thickened, pancetta enriched milk and tomato sauce with some minced dried porcini, dried tomatoes, garlic and herbs and tossed penne in it, followed by a bag of our frozen peas.…