where the image is meant to titillate and inspire the cook
Wild-Caught Fresh Black Cod
Stuffed with Fresh Black Winter Truffle
Crispy Rice Paper Wrapper
Truffle Oil/Truffle Flecks
This is special. An elegantly dressed all-green salad and a big, yeasty Champagne were its only accompaniments. The heady truffle with its unforgettable aromas, greatly affecting the mind and the senses, is purported to have aphrodisiac qualities. Would you consider serving fish sticks on Valentine’s Day?
Continue reading “black COD black TRUFFLE in crispy rice paper”
Chilled Soba Noodle Soup
Fragrant Soy Milk Broth with Ground Sesame, Lemongrass, Ginger, Curry Leaf
Buckwheat Soba Noodle & Chick Pea
Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber, Scallion, Cilantro, Red Jalapeño, Sesame Seed
Lemongrass, Ginger, Curry Leaf
Buckwheat Soba Noodle
As we Angelenos bask in a mid-winter heat wave with temperatures reaching the 80’s…we’re dining on a cool fragrant heart healthy soup here. Soy milk is infused with lemongrass, ginger, and curry leaf. Ground sesame seeds add a nutty component. The garnishes are bright and refreshing. My friends in the mid-west and north-east may want to remember this recipe for the hot months to come, and those in the Southern Hemisphere and Southern California (for the time being), can enjoy this chilled soup now!
“Truffle Heaven” Crostini
Fresh French Black Winter Truffle, Italian Truffle Cheese, Truffle Oil
with Shiitake and Frisée
A framed description of our “black diamond” is placed on the buffet.
This one ounce beauty is from Gourmet Attitude, importer of fresh truffles and fine truffle products in New York City. It is a good year for truffles, ours hails from the Village of Grignan in the South of France. The subterranean treasure was located by three female yellow Labrador retrievers with a family in its fourth generation of truffle hunting. I was told that dogs are preferred over pigs to hunt truffles nowadays, for one reason, it’s difficult to get a pig in and out of the car! Also, apparently the pig’s love for truffles is as ardent as ours, so she simply cannot stop herself from eating the $85/oz. delicacy. Dogs are much more obedient!
The black winter truffle is available December through March. This Fresh Black Winter Truffle (Tuber Melanosporum Vittadini) has in intense perfume with a bouquet of wet forest, humus, chocolate, and a hint of hazelnut. Our guests are surely in for a treat!
Come join me, my friends, in a Gastronomic Wonderland!
Hello my fellow foodies, bons vivants, gastronomes, gourmets, connoisseurs of the finest food and wine! To celebrate the end of a tasty 2010 and to welcome in a delicious 2011, come travel with us to Las Vegas this last weekend of the year and experience some of world’s best food created by renowned chefs, served in breathtaking ambiance with superlative service. Vegas, it’s a food lovers dream-come-true, a gastronomic wonderland!
An Invitation to Taste With The Eyes:
Twist – Pierre Gagnier
Comme Ca – David Myers
Jaleo – José Andrés
Osteria del Circo – Egidiana & Sirio Maccioni
Mon Ami Gabi – Gabino Sotelino
Menu
appetizer
Three Holiday Crostini Served with Bubbly:
Italian Truffle Cheese, Truffled Shiitake, Truffled Frisee
Cambozola, Cranberry Orange Relish, Walnut
Foie Gras Paté
dinner
Lori Lynn’s
Spicy Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Creme Fraiche
Garnished with Toasted Coconut, Chopped Cashews, Dried Pomegranate Arils
Gail’s
Bejeweled Endive Christmas Salad
Radish, Shallot, Basil, Fresh Pomegranate Seed
Creamy Champagne Thyme Vinaigrette
Lori Lynn’s
Roasted Cornish Game Hen
Meyer Lemon, Fennel, Olive, Garlic
Meyer Lemon Cream Fraiche “Gravy”
Pat’s
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Sally’s
Brussels Sprouts with Hollandaise
Lauren’s
Warm Chocolate Lava Cake
Peppermint Chip Ice Cream
A few days before Christmas I hosted A Foodie Christmas Dinner Party for my friends. Everyone was to bring a dish and wine. I had said that I would be making Cornish game hen and the rest of the menu was open. Without any formal planning, the menu evolved and the dinner turned out fabulous! My only direction was to let the cooks know what menu category was available. Since we are foodie friends that have been cooking together for years, it shouldn’t have surprised me that the random menu items complemented each other perfectly.