Dinner Tasting

I had a dinner tasting last night to select the menu for an event next week. The menus were:

Soups:

Smoked Potato Soup, Cured Salmon

Sweet Potato Soup, Ginger Cream

Mains:

Mushroom filled Chicken
Cauliflower Puree
Chevre-creamed corn
Cream Sherry Sauce

Olive filled Chicken
Spinach-Jocoque Spaetzle
Sauteed Mushrooms
Lemon Butter Sauce

Desserts:

Roasted Pinapple, Coconut Financier

Chai Panna Cotta, Pear Coulis

Balsamic with Cacao

While shopping for a big dinner, I found this vinegar. I was curious so I bought it thinking that it could be added to dessert. Upon opening it I tasted it. It bears no resemblance to the good stuff, but it's not as awful as the supermarket balsamic (just a tad short of it). It does, however present a nice hint of cocoa and just a touch of figs. I ended up reducing it into a nice sauce.

It's in no way a fancy product, but a nice, useful ingredient.

December 1st.

Dinner Menu:

Red Beet
Passionfruit Jocoque
Popcorn

SRF Kurobuta Pork
Girolles
Red Onion Puree
"Vino de Piedra" Sauce
Pollen-Mint

Chocolate Coulant
Blue Cheese Ice Cream
Cider Tapioca
Cacao Balsamic Reduction

TGRWT 8 - Roadblock

I'm a bit upset that I haven't found Caviar, the real deal, in this town... There's got to be a bit somewhere.

As for ideas, I had been thinking of making something like a white chocolate "beurre blanc". It's still on the drawing board...

In Memoriam: Sean Taylor

(Don Wright Photo)

Not having grown up in a place with an NFL franchise, I had usually been unstable in my support for teams. However I do tend to favor teams from cities I feel connections with or have lived in. And after a time in the DC Metro, it was very hard not to let the Skins grow on to me.

Today I was saddened to hear that young Sean Taylor passed away. He was one of the defensive leaders in the team and he was only on his 4th year in the NFL. It's sad to see him leave us, and it's even sadder when one thinks that he was only 24.

That's DOCTOR Adrià for you

Universitat de Barcelona is naming Ferrán Adrià Doctor Honoris Causa. This notion was put forward by the School of Chemistry and seconded by pretty much all the rest. It's the first time a cook receives such a naming from the University.

Naming ceremony will be December the 17th.

From: Directo al Paladar

Big Bake

Old school baking!

I got to admit, when I was making the mornay sauce for the gougeres I couldn't help thinking about setting it with xanthan gum instead of roux. I did end up with a texture somewhat similar to a xanthan thickened cream... I guess I'll have to scourge town for some gum.