Meghan turned 30 on the 30th of November. It was time for a birthday dinner like no other. Paul prepared a five course meal with wine pairings for each course. By the end of the evening I'd say love and happiness prevailed.
first course
tempura onion rings - togarashi, white soy
sho chiku bai, nigori sake
Which is to say, that Paul hand-peeled the membranes off of every onion ring, dipped them in tempura batter, fried them to a light brown crispness and then dusted them with a dried Japanese chili pepper. The onion rings were then dipped in a white soy sauce with a beautiful amber color and a lightness that will ruin one for any future encounters with garden variety soy sauce. A choice of unfiltered sake (which leaves a lingering sense of melon on the tongue) or champagne (always a good thing) rounded out the opening salvo of what was to be an epic meal.
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| Table set for 16. |
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| Meg, John, Gula, Brady, Lauren, Danielle, Corey, Kristin, Schuyler, Clay, Tim |
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third course
puree of sunchoke soup - arugula pudding, pickled radish, fried brioche
zind humbrecht 2011 riesling
I'd say this is where the meal started to hit the upper stratosphere. The soup bowls were presented with a swirl of arugula pudding (about 10 ounces of fresh arugula blanched, pureed and sieved down to about 1/2 cup of green goodness, then whisked together with a cream and egg yolk enriched roux), bright pink watermelon radish pickle (fine dice and rounds that had been pickled sous vide by Paul earlier in the week) and a scattering of 1/8" brioche croutettes (I made that up ... they were too dainty to qualify as croutons, and what croutons have you ever had that were fried in clarified butter anyway?). I then had the privilege of dividing the three quarts of sunchoke soup (oh how do I even begin to describe this ... think silken creaminess with a hint of the most delicate celery-like flavor) amongst 16 soup plates. Thank goodness it didn't run out, though it was a near thing ... fortunately there was enough for a few lucky souls to get seconds.
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| Meg explains what it is like to be entering her fourth decade of life....with a 2 week old child. |
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Chef Paul in the kitchen preparing the fourth course....
fourth course
tenderloin of beef - scallop, mushroom, bone marrow, pommes maxim
ch. Pontac lynch 2009 bordeaux
Will you believe me if I say the penultimate course was among the best I've ever eaten? Is it an unforgivable braggadocio to say so if one has a hand in the cooking? I'm willing to risk saying so.
In any case, this is when the most insane red wine I've ever tasted joined the party (pause to take of sip of pedestrian red and rue the day my taste buds were informed there was anything so magical on the face of the planet ... but I digress). The food ... oh the food. The beef tenderloin was cooked sous vide to the perfect temperature for medium rare, then finished on the stove top (see above) with a generous basting of butter, thyme, and garlic. The scallops were seared with the able assistance of sous chef Don (aka Pop Pop). Scored mushrooms were sauteed and plated at 7 and 10 o'clock. A marrow sauce, which had been unassumingly simmering on a back burner, was joined by a saucy wine reduction at 4 o'clock on the plate. Last, but not least, thin slices of potato were assembled in rounds and sauteed in the aforementioned clarified butte, to a crisp doneness. Sadly, the heirloom garlic and micro greens did not make it to the party, but their absence was hardly noted. "Fork tender" doesn't begin to describe it. |
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| ...and presented at the table. |
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| Sous chef Liz was in her element. |
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After the final course ... and the sherry kicks in.
dessert
sticky ginger cake - dulce de leche, candied orange peel, pumpkin seed lace, date
dry sack 15 yr oloroso sherry
But no birthday dinner would be complete without cake ... and what cake. Conjure, if you will, the best ginger/spice cake you have ever eaten ... place it every so gently on a pool of dulce de leche (reduced from fresh whole milk speckled with vanilla bean seeds), top it with both bavarian and whipped creams, sprinkle slivers of date and candied orange zest on the plate, then lean a buttery crisp pumpkin seed tuile alongside.
And don't forget the sherry. "Sherry?" you say? Ah, just look at the beaming faces in the picture above ... that's all you need to know. |
