Tasting of Vegetables
PARSNIP-VANILLA SOUP
white wine poached bartlett pear with anise-hyssop leaves
"FRICASSE" OF BRAISED SALSIFY
glazed cipollini & pearl onions, young leeks, valencia orange "supremes" & "petite" mache with "sauce malaise"
SALAD OF CARAMELIZED FALL SQUASH
butternut squash "millefeuille," "Panade aux quatre epices," brussels sprouts,
crispy sage & pomegranate reduction
"PANACHE D'ARTICHAUTS"
"confit of violet and globe artichokes, rainbow swiss chard ribs and nicoise olive "crouton" with armando manni "per me" extra virgin olive oil 2005 & aged balsamic vinegar
HERB ROASTED HEN-OF-THE-WOODS MUSHROOM
sunchoke "flan," Sunchoke "Chips and field mizuna
BLACK WINTER TRUFFLE "MACARONI & CHEESE"
"mezzi rigatoni" with cabot creamery's aged cheddar, black winter truffles and "brioche" breadcrumbs
"CRESPELLA ALLA RICOTTA DI PECORA"
k&j orchard's Chestnut "puree," golden purslane and chestnut-scented honey
APPLE CIDER SORBET
pumpkin "genoise" and custard with "gelee d'apfel cvee et confit de pommes"
GARDEN SWEET CARROT CAKE
cream cheese icing, indonesian cinnamon ice cream, candied pecans and black raisin "coulis"
"MIGNARDISES"
WINES
Gaja, Rossj - Bass, Piedmont, Langhe, 2005
Clos du Bourg, Vouvray, 2000
Paul Hobbs, Pinot Noir, Russian River, 2004
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Dining Notes: Dinner was with the King & Queen of Haute Cuisine, The Carters. It was our final dining experience and came after the close of the Gourmet Institute. It was our way of celebrating a friendship that was born over Oaxacan street food and continues over 20-year old Balsamic vinegar. As I wrote this up I am thinking that my, oh my aren't there a lot of quotes on this menu everything is special and elevated and quite exceptionally elegant. And yes, yes I did the vegetable tasting. There was just moreon that selection that fit my leanings and palate. I was not disappointed in any way. Also I had the best gin & tonic--Plymouth gin with house-made tonic. Also not to mention the two kinds of butter--salted from a small dairy in Vermont and unsalted Strauss Dairy butter that accompanied the breads--the pretzel roll (which seems to be the pervasive choice in Manhattan these days) was--would be overlooking a detail.
Also, we received a tour of the pristine kitchen, so quiet, so ordered. The flat screen TV provided a window into dinner prepartions in Napa. Everyone in the kitchen was focused but calm. It was all very Zen. Chef Kellher, attended the Gourmet Institute that afternoon put was jetting off to Germany to accept an award.
Seriously, as the many calls I made attested, "if I died in my sleep that night I knew that I had experienced one of the best meals of my entire life.
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