It’s almost (note “almost”) getting passé for this group of
gourmet home cooks to rise to the challenge of a world chef’s cookbook. This dinner was no
exception. Charlie Trotter was a pioneer
of gourmet creativity, blending cultural flavors way before it became a popular way of cooking, using exotic spices and organic ingredients. Although it was rumored that he was a
tyrant in the kitchen, yelling at his chefs and staff, there is no denying that
he was a genius.
His cookbooks were lacking in specific directions and his
recipes don’t turn out as intended, as do Thomas Keller’s books, for
example. Some outcomes were
quite disappointing as some of us tried different recipes. What I found weird was that in
the dish I prepared, I ended up making 10 times the amount that is needed in
the final assembly. . . What a waste!
BUT, did we have a fabulous dinner? Absolutely!
We started with a non-Trotter appetizer that I threw
together at the last minute to nosh on while we were waiting for everyone to
arrive. The Avocado Toasts with Oaxacan Sesame Sauce
is a simple recipe to make and went really well with the Franck Bonville nv
Champagne Prestige Brut, Blanc de Blanc out of Bill’s cellar. The slices of toasted baguette are
topped with diced avocado that’s been marinated in lime juice and then sauced
with a sesame seed, almond and peanut blend. I sprinkled some chives and parsley because that’s what I
had on hand but the recipe calls for cilantro. It’s pretty yummy and can be addictive!
By now, everyone had arrived and met our newest member,
another David! Sandi W.
prepared our next dish that was plated and served at the table. Smoked Salmon Tartare with Horseradish Cream. (note: if you click on the recipe title, if it exists on the internet, you can view it) She used a smoked salmon that was locally made and also made
her own horseradish cream. It was
very delicious, combining shallots, capers, salmon, horseradish heaped onto a
toasted slice of sourdough baguette bread. I helped with the finally assembly and sparingly
sprinkled some additional grated horseradish and upon sitting and eating them,
realized that I should have sprinkled more. We all discussed how we were expecting fresh horseradish to
practically singe our eyebrows and it did while Sandi was grating it but after
it’s added to the cream or sprinkled on, it’s surprisingly mild. We concluded that repared horseradish
has more of a kick than fresh. Bottom
line, regardless, really great appetizer! Bill selected a
2010 J. Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc, Old Vines, Russian River, Sonoma. It was bright, refreshing and
complemented the salmon flavors perfectly.
Next was a great surprise! Michelle made an Eggplant
and Potato Cannelloni and I had images of a cannelloni pasta stuffed with
eggplants and potatoes and couldn’t figure out how that was going to turn out
but AHA! the cannelloni is made
from mandolin thin slices of potatoes wrapped around eggplants and caramelized
onions. She roasted them
until the potatoes were crisped on the edges and served it over a bed of wilted
spinach and laced with a sauce of cardamon-carrot juice. It is designed to be a main entré and
we each got two cannellonis and enjoyed every bite and drop. I loved it and tried to find the recipe
online but no such luck. I’ll have
to borrow the book and copy the recipe from her. She and David couldn’t decide which wine would go best with
her dish so they brought both!
A white burgundy, 2012 Albert
Grivault Meursault Clos du Murger and a 2010
Domaine Barmes-Buecher Gewurztraminer from Pfersigberg. We pretty much had consensus that the
Gewurtz was the winner!
I couldn’t find the recipe online for the next dish either.
. . darn! David K made the Truffled Exotic Mushrooms Tart. He made the rich buttery crust in
individual tart pans and filled them with a variety of mushrooms AND THEN
generously shaved fresh Himalayan Truffles over it all. We started with half a tart, knowing we
had several courses to go yet but I could have eaten a whole one (and regretted
it 5 lbs later…). It was an “over
the top” entré that everyone devoured.
You can tell from the photo that the crust was perfectly made and the
black trumpet and chanterelle mushrooms with carrots, onions and kernels of
corn was a panopoly of flavors. He
selected a luscious 2009 Réyane et Pascal
Bouley Volnay 1er Cru Clos des
Chênes to complement his dish and it did indeed!
We now moved on to the main event, David S.’s Cumin Coriander Lamb. Medium rare slices of lamb tenderloin
interwoven with pieces of mandarin oranges, served with mint marinated English
peas, slivers of green olives nestled in a yogurt cream sauce with dots of
parsley oil. All of this, over a
bed of pickled cucumbers. What a
lot of parts and separate recipes for a delicious combination that gave us
savory, sour, sweet with crunchy, meaty, citrus accents. Thank you, David, for going through all
the pieces of this final gustatory delight! When we read the ingredients, we couldn’t figure out
what wine to serve that would enhance the various flavors and since I didn’t
have the cookbook, we didn’t have the advantage of seeing what Charlie Trotter
recommended which was a Viognier.
Who would have guessed?
Bill and I thought maybe a Rhone would do the trick and selected a very
nice 1990 Crozes Hermitage La
Guiraude Alain Graillot Rhone, France. I thought it had the fruit, structure and balance that worked
with the lamb.
By now, we had quite a few dishes that were rich and filling
so I asked Annie to bring a salad which she readily did. It was the perfect salad to
cleanse and brighten our palates. Fennel and Apple Salad. I’ve learned to love fennel
in all of its preparations because of this group. We’ve had it braised and raw and it’s now a
regular part of my menu.
While a simple salad, the combination of the savory and sweet with a
lemony vinaigrette was just amazing!
We did not serve a wine with this dish after learning from our Sbragia Family Winery tasting lesson that lemon and wines do not enhance each other.
My dish was so very disappointing. I made the ChocolateBanana Tart with Caramel and Chocolate Sauce. It was one of those 7-recipes-in-one kind of
recipe. I had to make Cashew Milk,
Date Paste, Chocolate Almond Fudge, Mexican Chocolate sauce, Tart Shells,
Honeyed Walnuts and a Cashew Caramel Sauce. It took a week to do them since several of them could be
made ahead of time and took anywhere from 8-36 hours to make. It required a dehydrator that I don’t have
so I used my warming drawer to the temperature of 105º or so. It wasn’t very sweet which was a
good thing but it was really dry so I added a quenelle of Homemade Banana & Walnut Ice Cream (another non-Trotter recipe) I
had made already--that turned out to be the best part of the dessert,
IMHO. The chocolate was very
thick, the caramel wasn’t very tasty or sweet. The honeyed walnuts were good, though. Sigh! I tossed
the recipe since I’m positive I won’t be making it again! Bill chose a
2003 Chateau Coutet
Sauternes to counter the heavy flavors of my dessert. I didn’t think it went well with the
dessert but it was a wonderful sauternes;
a well-balanced, rich and fruity, rounded with good acidity and clean,
lingering finish. AND, the best
way to end an evening of great food, conversation and comraderie.
What’s up next? David Lebovitz’ cookbook, My Paris Kitchen, a book that has become the latest “go to”
cookbook for several cooks in our group.
Our next dinner is a 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon dinner on June 6 and will be at Sandi
& Willie’s home in Brentwood. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for details.
Cook on!
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