Fine Dining in Japan

Konichiwa!   

We have just returned from our Japan tour and I just have to share some of our culinary adventures with you.   We ate everything from Japanese street food like takoyaki, a delicious small eggy ball with a piece of octopus in it (you can get it locally from Nijiya Market, freshly made or frozen) served with a sauce, different kinds of noodles, all kinds of sweets (like “Manju,” a rice flour with sweet bean paste and  sweet or savory “sen bei” a crispy rice cakes of all sizes and shapes), yakitori, yakinori, etc. to a $180 pp Kaiseki dinner in Kyoto.

The photos are from our kaiseki dinner at the Kikunoi restaurant in the Roan district of Kyoto.   We met with executive chef who was very accommodating and spoke English, to our relief!  And, they gave us an English version of the menu, printed in rice paper, of course.  Some kaiseki dinners require that you know someone who has an “in” with the restaurant in order to get a reservation.   Our tour company made the reservations for us.  The dress is surprisingly pretty casual, considering how formal the Japanese are (they still all wear suits & ties to work).  This dinner had 16 courses that were split into sections.   Kaiseki dinners serve their courses by the way they are prepared so this dinner had Hassuu (appetizers), Sashimi, Soup, Grilled, Fresh, Fried, Rice and Dessert.  Rice in Japan is not always a  side dish but course by itself and generally served last, just before the dessert.  Each table has it’s own chef who prepares each course.

Because the attention to detail is to the nth degree, I tried to take photos of the presentation and dishes, bowls, etc. because it was half of the pleasure of dining.

The amuse bouche was a small crystal bowl of “Sake with the fragrance of Iris leaf.“  If you look closely at the photo you can see the symbol of the restaurant etched into the crystal.  The napkins also had this symbol printed on them and were given to us as a gift when we left the restaurant

We ordered a bottle of the restaurant’s cold sake, a dry sake that had herbal notes that we all enjoyed.  We ordered sake at several restaurants and lounges to do our own tastings and found them very palatable and amazingly as different as chardonnays are in California.  This was one of our favorites.  I took a photo of the sake carafe that had been frozen before the sake was added and stayed cold throughout the dinner.  It was made of very heavy metal that was able to maintain the cold temperatures.  I was very enchanted with it’s shape as well as it’s function.   Had I thought of it at the time, I should have checked to see if I could buy one from them. . . darn!

We were first presented with my favorite dish of the evening, an amuse bouche of  “Chinese yam jelly, sea urchin, Shiso flower, light soy sauce gel with Wasabi”.     The square of  jelly was infused with minced “nagaimo,” a crispy, crunchy yam that is rinsed several times to eliminate the slime before it is added to the jelly.  It was topped with Uni (sea urchin) and then bathed in a light soy sauced infused with wasabi.  What an unimaginable combination of crispy, creamy, salty, spicy, light and rich flavors topped with the unforgettable taste of a shiso flower.  Very umami!

The next dish was a wooden box, topped with a live iris, reflecting the theme of the evening.   Once the lid was removed, we were presented with an array of a  Aburame (Greenling, a fish) marinated in rice vinegar, Chimaki-Sushi, ginger wrapped eel in Kanpyo (dried gourd shavings), Tai (red sea bream fish) roe cake, Edamame (green soybeans), Japanese Taro with fermented soy beans, salted Tai (sea bream) and Hana-Sansho (Japanese pepper flowers).   Better than a box of chocolates!  You never know what you are going to get.   And so beautifully presented, don’t you think?

ppetizers:

Then comes our sushi course of Tai (Red sea bream), Shimaazi (yellow Jack fish), yellow leek, Udo (very nutritious omega 3 fish oil) and carrot, wasabi and Bonito (fish from tuna family), with ponzu (citrus based sauce) gel.  They were too generous with their servings because we were starting to get full and we had 14 entre’s to go.

Onto our soup course of Guji (tilefish), a thin egg omelet, Cha-soba (green tea noodles) in a Tsuyu (a stock made of bonito flakes, soy and mirin, a flavored sake) served with Matcha  (tea made from freshly ground tea leaves ground into a powder).  Again, served in beautiful bowls and artfully arranged.

The “Grill” course was two dishes.  We had a choice of either Ayu, Tade-zu (a water pepper vinegar sauce) or a Miso-marinated flatfish with sweet pepper.  I chose the flatfish that was grilled from a ceramic grill set on our table.   I was told to eat the whole fish.  It looked fearsome but it was such a small fish and so crispy and very delicious.   Bill and my cousin ordered the Ayu, a fresh water small fish, marinated in the water pepper vinegar, served in beautiful antique hand-painted dishes.  

After we ate our grilled fish, we were served a tiny, tiny, tiny eggplant.  It was the size of the end of your thumb!!   Very cute but besides that, very savory, vinegary with just  taste of sweet.
 

Our salad course composed of two dishes.  The first one was my next favorite dish of Junsai (water shield, a member of the water lily family), cucumber and Umeboshi (a pickled plum).   Served in a lidded bowl that belied what it contained.  Imagine our surprise when we removed the lid!   I’ve never eaten a junsai before…it’s sort of a green crunchy root surrounded by a gel that it creates to protect it.If you google “junsai water shield” you’ll see photos of it.   Very fascinating ingredient! 

The second part of our salad course was very strange and none of us liked it that much.  It was a tofu dish with the milt of the tai fish (milt is the seminal fluid of fish…think sperm), broad beans, wheat gluten and Myouga, (a Japanese ginger that is a cross between fresh ginger shoots and a mild pickling onion, but without any strong onion-y flavor. They look like slender shallots not like the ginger root that we are used to). . . so-o-o, moving on to our next course which is “Fried.”

We ate fried Abalone with rice cracker, bamboo shoot, sweet pepper with a sauce made from the liver of the abalone.   The abalone was rather tough, which really surprised us since we’ve eaten very tender abalone from Manresa as well as other restaurants.   But since we were getting pretty full by now, it was a good excuse to skip a course.   Again, served very artfully and tantalizing which added to our disappointment.

Our last savory course was a steamed rice made with grilled Tai, napa cabbage, and assorted Japanese pickles.   It was made just for our table as you can see from the photo of our private chef with it.  This rice was absolutely delicious!  The Tai fish pieces along with the cabbage and pickles was fabulous combination of tastes, textures and umami.   The sad part was that we were so full by this time, that we could only eat a few bites and wish that we could create space for it in our tummies.

Sigh, so many great dishes and so little space in our bodies. . .

We finally come to our dessert choices:  either a Champagne sorbet with pineapple and aloe that Bill and my cousin ordered, because they had no more space to eat another bite so I had to sacrifice myself and order the Strawberries with strawberry sauce and milk ice cream.   Both entre’s were refreshing and the perfect ending to a memorable Japanese meal.  

If you have a chance to travel to Japan, save your quarters and try to make a reservation at a Kaiseki restaurant.  They usually have price range choices from $100-200 (including tax and tip) and are found in major cities, like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima or Osaka.  Each region of Japan serves similar dishes in different ways but you are sure to have a wonderful meal!

But for cheaper, fun AND delicious fare, go to the Nishiki Market in Kyoto.  It is a 3-block long, covered market filled with tiny stalls that sell different foods, desserts and gifts.  I even found tofu donuts!!  And, if you are looking for a great Japanese knife or knives, look for the knife stall…whoa!   Great knives that are made right there.  I wish we had such a place here.  There was a man who was sharpening knives on a whetstone wheel; made me wish I had brought some knives for him but he only sharpens soft steel knives, not stainless steel.   In Osaka, there is a food district that sells street food as well as restaurants too.

Where have you been traveling for food?  Sharon, send us a post from Paris with photos!

See most of you in June for our Zuni Café, Judy Rodgers, dinner!

Sayonara!

Sandi

Our Courageous Cooks (. . . and why you pay the big bucks at Manresa Restaurant)

David Kinch clearly states at the beginning of his beautiful cookbook, Manresa, an Edible 
Reflection, that this is a cookbook for professional kitchens.   When I spoke with him, he said
to use our common sense to adapt the recipes to our home kitchens.   If you ever eat at
Manresa, make it point to ask your server if you can see his kitchen.  The centerpiece of
David’s kitchen is his $250,000 stove.  There are no individual burners on his stove top…
it is a continuous piece of thick metal that has different temperatures that are constant,
but in different spots on the surface.   Final prep is often done with tweezers.  Clearly this
does not look like our kitchens!

However, our club members are an intrepid group of gourmet cooks who forged ahead and tried
over 12 recipes from his book.   Many of the efforts either took ingredients that are not normally
found in everyday kitchens or used equipment we didn’t already have in our kitchens.  Some
of the ingredients were more like chemical ingredients, like ascorbic acid, carrageenan,
xanthum gum, etc. and the equipment ranged from a madeleine pan or egg topper to an
expensive sous vide.

 We started our dinner with Parmesan Churros while
drinking two Michel Arnould NV Champagnes; La Grand 
Cuvee and Rosé from France.  These delicate churros
were creamy AND crispy and the perfect appetizer while
waiting for everyone to arrive.  Willie served these as
they do at catered affairs, on a tray that he passed
around.  It was hard to resist taking several but we all
knew that we had a huge dinner ahead so we restrained
ourselves from eating too many (AND, finished the tray!)

While in the living room, we were served Red Pepper Pâte de Fruit and Black Olive Madeleines, two of my favorite Manresa amuse bouches.   Michelle said that she burned the first batch of sugar and the recipe says not to overcook the pâte so they weren’t as “set” as they are at the restaurant.  They tasted lovely, both savory and sweet as were the black olive madeleines.  She purchased the madeleine form pans especially for this dinner and because they were so delicious, I may buy a pan as well.  Michelle had followed the instructions but the resulting madeleines were undercooked so she made a second batch that was baked longer.   These were light, soft and crispy around the edges, perfection!   Many of us 
had problems with the cooking times and found that our ovens were not equal 
to a restaurant oven and needed longer oven times.  With these delicacies, 
we were treated to a Charles Oban NV Blanc de Noirs that was crisp and was a nice contrast
to the two sweet and savory dishes.

We then sat down to a table set with tons of silver and glistening crystal to enjoy a small dish of Strawberry Gazpacho that Sandy prepared for us.  She added a
bit of sugar to the strawberries since they are not in
season right now.  The soup was like a tomato
gazpacho complete with minced celery, cucumber,
garlic bathed in a strained puree of strawberry juice.   
Everyone loved the surprise of the first bite of not
tomatoes, as expected, but strawberries!  Bill
selected Peju 2010 Chardonnay Estate Bottled 
from Napa Valley to go with this soup.  This
chardonnay was apple-y rather than creamy and
as a result, perfect for this acidic dish.

I did not choose to have a wine to go with the next dish.   It’s Bill’s favorite amuse bouche from Manresa.  (They have a note next to his name in their files to make sure he gets one whenever we eat there.) I prepared it for Bill and because it’s a signature dish at Manresa.  The Arpége Farm Egg.   A topped egg shell that is divinely layered bites of a lightly coddled egg yolk, flavored with a touch of ginger, maldón salt, chopped chives, then topped with a sherry vinegar-ed heavy cream and then several drops of maple syrup.  This is definitely an OMG dish when you take your demitasse spoon and dip it to the bottom of the egg then bring it up through the layers into your mouth.   I’ve gotten better at topping the egg shell to get a smooth cut but you can see from the photo, it is a far cry from the perfect egg at the restaurant!

Our next dish is actually a course at Manresa so we
made it a course for our dinner.  Bread and Butter.  
Bread and butter, you ask???  Aha! Yes, but not any
bread and certainly not any butter.   Since we didn’t
get any Manresa made bread, Annie drove up to San
Francisco to buy bread from Tartine Bakery, another
delicious chewy and crusty bread maker.   Annie
made the salted butter for this course as they do at the restaurant.  Manresa has their own special cows that
make their butter but  Annie used Clover heavy cream
and cultured it for several days to make hers.   Remember the days when the milkman
brought milk and cream to you?  The milk had a cream top in the glass bottle and butter
had that rich creamy flavor.  I suspect that the milk at Manresa is not homogenized or
his cows give especially rich milk because the butter is very yellow and has a cultured
flavor.  I have to give it a try. . .someday. Even though this was “just” bread and butter,
Jeffrey served his 2005 Mount Eden Vineyard estate Chardonnay with it.  It was creamy
and rich, like the bread and butter.  Thank you Jeffrey, for sharing your special wines with
our group.  We are so lucky to have a winemaker of your caliber in our cookbook club…not
to mention your culinary skills! 

Sharon spent 2 full days making the Garden Velouté with mustard cream.  The soup was absolutely divine!   Sharon spent days making the vegetable stock and the vegetable purée that is poured into the bowl at the very last minute.   The recipe gave the cook the option to prepare various purées but Sharon decided to make ALL of them so we were allowed to select the dollop(s) we wanted to add to our bowl.  She made beet, carrot, eggplant, turnip, and nasturtium purees.  So, in truth everyone’s bowl of velouté tasted a bit differently.  She added a few leaves of herbs, pansies to our bowl to turn it into a beautiful culinary painting.  We all added the mustard cream that blossomed in the bowl once the vegetable stock was added.  This was
the dish that I just loved but I am not sure I’d go to all the work that Sharon described to make
this dish.  Willie’s photograph shows the soup before the veloute is poured over the purees
to show that it truly was a work of art.  I asked bill to select one of his J. Rochioli’s to go
with this soup, a 2008 Chardonnay from South River Vineyard Russian River Valley but
after tasting the velouté, Michelle and I thought a Sauvignon Blanc would have been a
better choice.  So, of course, David, dips into his wine cellar to come up with a wonderful
White Bordeaux, 2005, Domaine Chevalier that was indeed a better choice for this soup.

Bill poured a Sauternes to complement our next course.  
He and I always drink sauternes with foie gras and this
evening was no exception.  Sandi made the Fois Gras 
and Cumin Caramel which is like a very rich and
savory flan made with a foie gras torchon and bathed
in a cumin caramel sauce.  If you like foie gras, you’ll
love this dish as much as we all did.   Every dish that
came out of David and Michelle’s kitchen was better
than the last dish and each one had its own distinct
signature taste, texture and umami.   I sipped some
Chateau Nairac 2001 Sauternes from Barsac, France with each bite.  Heaven!   Sandi
had the same issue that others had in terms of cooking time and found that it needed
more time than the recipe called for.  The smell of burnt sugar (in this case, for the 
caramel and also for Michelle's amuse bouche) seemed to also pervade a few of our
kitchens for this dinner!  As a result, preparations took longer than expected.  And, with
this dish, the foie gras is so expensive that it’s not a dish that one would prepare twice.
It’s a good thing that Sandi is such an accomplished gourmet cook!

Speaking of expense. . . this meal at the restaurant is similar to the $185 Chef’s Tasting Menu (before wine, tax and tip) and we now know why it costs so much to dine at Manresa.   It’s a good thing that the dishes were split among ten of us to prepare.   I would venture a guess that all together, we spent easily $1200+ in groceries, meats, spices, equipment, etc. and another $1500+ in wines and who knows how many hours of labor!!  We all made mistakes and it’s only our extensive culinary experiences that allowed for any error to be compensated well enough to create a dish that was more than palatable, but absolutely delicious.   

Annie made the Shrimp, Salted Butter and Apple Brandy for our next course.  She found live shrimp at the Chinese market, Marina Foods, on Stevens Creek Blvd in Cupertino AND drove all the way to Santa Cruz to buy the Osocalis Apple Brandy that Kinch recommends in his cookbook.  All of her efforts, despite her protestations that she chose an easy dish to prepare, were rewarded with an absolutely delicious dish.  The shrimp was tender, filled with flavors of her home-churned butter and the apple brandy.   Every bite was to die for!!  Because of the richness of this dish, Bill selected an Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg 2005 Riesling Spätlese from the Mosel region of Germany.  Another perfect pairing, the sweetness and acidity of the Spätlese provided a nice foil to the shrimp.  Thank you Bill!

Our next course was prepared by Jeffrey, who, because he is such a good friend of Kinch, was able to get his abalone for his dish, Abalone with pig’s feet, avocado, sans milk skin, from the restaurant.   Jeffrey also spent two days preparing his dish, braising the pig’s feet component of the recipe.  He tried several times to get the milk skin for the last part of the presentation but could never get the skin to congeal enough for him to lift it out of the pan in one sheet.  It must be a magical process.  There was much discussion about this part of the recipe and how a thicker skin could be developed, ranging from non-homogenized milk, to letting it sit longer for the top skin to form and adding cream to the milk to create a thicker top.   I don’t know, however, if anyone will test this out to find out the secret.  Maybe Kinch will give us some help!  It was delicious without the milk skin.  The pieces of pig’s feet were very flavorful and the abalone was tender, and a rare treat for us!  The green of the puréed avocado and sour cream added a bright touch to this very rich dish.   Bill poured two wines with this dish: Chateau Latour 1983 from the Pauillac region of Bordeaux, France and a Dominus 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napanook Vineyard.  Both wines were rich and still had a bit of tannins that countered the rich pigs feet and sauces and abalone.

Our second main course was Spring Lamb and Cucumber, Blueberries with juniper and olives  prepared by David.  He had to cook the lamb longer than the recipe instructed but it offered us a respite from eating and a chance for more lively discussions, mostly focused on culinary subjects.   While waiting we sipped some Chateau Fleur Cardinale, 2007, from Saint Emilion, France and a Mount Eden Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 1994, Estate Santa Cruz Mountains.   David challenged us to guess which decanted wine was from which winery.  I’d say that half of us got it correctly.  Many favored the Mount Eden Vineyard wine and both went very well with the lamb and blueberries.  The juniper and olive dish reminded me of the “dirt” in Kinch’s “into the Garden” dish that he prepares but this one was not made out of chicory but was perfumed with the juniper berries and very earthy because of the olives.   Annie couldn’t stop raving about this combination.  It was a wonderful dish that we could copy IF we have the time to prepare the sauces and reductions for it.

The Candy Cap Ice Cream dessert that Michelle made was another surprise to our palates.  Candy Cap Mushrooms grow in California and have a very earthy sweet flavor, similar to maple syrup.  It was the mushroom and maple syrup flavors that was a great combination!!  This ice cream has no eggs but was creamy and rich as any ice cream I’ve ever tasted.   She found dried candy cap mushrooms at her local farmer’s market in Menlo Park.  This vendor also has a shop in the Ferry Building in San Francisco.   She had also ordered some online so she ended up with an ample supple to make this ice cream.   Bill chose a Madeira Wine NV Malmsey from the Funchal Wine Company in Madeira, Portugal for this dessert.  Once again a perfect pairing with the nuttiness of the Madeira to go with the flavors of the maple syrupy mushrooms.

I decided to also make the Sea Salt and Vanilla Caramels, individually wrapped for everyone
to grab a handful on their way out the door, as they do at the restaurant.  The caramels were
easy to make but, oh, my goodness! it took forever to cut the cellophane into rectangles and
then wrap the candy.  Whoever does them at the restaurant must have carpel tunnel by now!
Each recipe creates over 350 pieces so multiply that by having to do it every day or so for
their customers.  Oh my!

This was another 6-hour gourmet feast for us and every course was distinct and delicious.
Thank you everyone for making this dinner such a great success.  And thank you David
Kinch for sharing your exquisite recipes with us.

Our next dinner is Saturday, June 7 and hosted by Janis and Bill who will have returned
from their Australian home.  She hasn’t selected the cookbook yet so stay tuned.  Until then,

Cook on!

A Study in Champagnes

David and Michelle were inspired by some recent champagne tastings and decided to host an all Champagne dinner.    We all brought courses and champagnes and as a result, 4 Hors D’Ouevres, 6 courses and 18 champagnes.   The dinner started at 6 p.m. and ended at 12:30 AM and I can hear you all saying , “OMG!” but yes, it took us six and a half hours to consume this dinner.

We started with Sashimi (Otoro, Maguro, Hamachi and Uni), Smoked Salmon Crisps, Potato Cakes with Cilantro dipping sauce and Smoked Salmon.  So, of course, we had to have more than one champagne to go with all of these appetizers: Collard-Picard Cuvée Dom Picard Blanc de blancs, Andre Cloquet Brut Nature, and a 2002 Pascal Doquet Blanc.   These champagnes were well chosen to go with these dishes. . .or, more likely, the dishes were prepared to go with the wines.

Our first course was Dungeness Crab, Avocado, Radish Sprouts, Tobiko & Toasted Quinoa with miso beurre blanc.  This dish was David's creation to introduce us all to Toasted Quinoa, an ingredient that he and Michelle discovered at the Farmhouse Restaurant in the Sonoma area.   It’s an ingredient that I will definitely start using.  It was especially good as they used it:  the avocado chunks were rolled in it.   His Miso Beurre Blanc dressing was wine friendly and oh so umami-ly delicious!  The champagnes for this course and the next soup course came from everyone’s cellars and together we drank a vertical of 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002 & 2004 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and a 2002 Pascal Doquet Blanc de Blancs.   The 1996 and ‘98 Comtes changed over time and became richer as they warmed up in our glasses and refreshers brought all the wonderful flavors back to the glasses.

The next dish was Tartine Bakery Sourdough Bread and Kerrygold butter.  I know, you may not think that bread should not be a course but Tartine Bakery’s bread is baked in my favorite style of bread:  chewy inside with a thin crispy crust and so very flavorful.  To further heighten the butter, David brought out some fleur de sel and truffle salt.   Like Manresa Restaurant’s bread course, I could just dine on bread and butter!!

We then had Cauliflower, Bacon and Ginger Soup with white truffle oil that Vai prepared.  It was oh so-o-o smooth and creamy.  I’ve asked for the recipe so if you too want to try this soup (and you won’t regret preparing it), let me know and I’ll share it with you.   We all wanted seconds but knew we had several courses to go and declined another helping but were so tempted!  (Sorry about the photo. . . my iphone did not do this soup justice.  It was very white but I couldn't get Photoshop to make the changes)  So far we are finishing the bottles of champagne. . . A-mazing!   I was tasting and spitting as were a couple of others around the dining table, otherwise I’d be “four sheets to the wind” or passed out by now.

The next course was a new introduction for me to farro.   After bad experiences with barley, I’ve not tried many grains but after tonight, not only has quinoa joined my list of ingredients but farro as well--especially David's preparation of Farro Risotto with Maitakes & Porcini Mushrooms, Bolete Powder and Poached Egg.   My serving used a poached quail egg but some had a duck egg.   David suggested an additional drop of a liquid concoction that he called “Anchovy Ick” that definitely added another layer of umami.  This liquid is fermented anchovies and he suggested that we add one drop without smelling it first because the smell is “icky” to most people.   This dish was my favorite, I think because it was such a pleasant surprise to find that I liked it – loved it actually!   But, I digress…onto the champagnes.  Another vertical of Veuve Clicquots: 1990, 1995 & 1996 Grande Dame AND a 1995 Dom Perignon.  Again, these came from various cellars.  We had not tasted a vertical of Grande Dames before and it was amazing to taste the signature Veuve Clicquot across the three years.  Very recognizable in each year. 

Our next dish illustrates how wine friendly a salad can be.   Susan prepared a light  Fennel, Citrus and Olive Salad using the oranges from her yard for the dressing and olive oil cured olives.  You'll notice the use of avocados rolled in the toasted quinoa (see right side of salad) again here.   This salad was a perfect intermezzo between two heavy dishes and not only went well with the champagnes but was so refreshing at this point in the evening.  I loved the raw fennel slices that added a touch of sweetness to the salad.  

David prepared the Roasted Rack of Lamb with rosemary flower fleur de sel and a side of Duck fat Roasted Potatoes.   What’s not to like about a rack of lamb!  Perfectly roasted and the rosemary salt was a nice added accent that enhanced the lamb.  I must tell you a story about the duck fat. David Kinch’s version of Foie Gras Torchon requires the foie gras to be submerged in duck fat so our David bought a huge vat of it.  I got several pints of it to take home and the King’s had duck fat in their diet for several weeks…in fact, so much, that they needed to take a break from it. The good news is that it keeps for months!   There is nothing as delicious as potatoes cooked in duck fat.  I used it in a Jacques Pepin potato dish last weekend and everyone loved it!   We HAD to open some more champagnes to go with the lamb so we forged on to four Rosés.  Barnaut Rosé Authentic, Bruno Michel lieu-dit Les Roses, Fleury Rosé de saignee, and a Larmandier-Bernier Rosé de saignee.  I know you were wondering about what champagnes would go with red meat but these rosés were surprisingly compatible and I loved the varying shades of pinks and roses as well as the rich fruit and complexity of the wines.

It is now 11:30 p.m. so I thought I’d better get the dessert together.  I made Wine Poached Pears with raspberry coulis.  It’s a light dessert that is brightened with the raspberry sauce.  I passed a dish of Chantilly Cream for people to add to the dish if they wished.   It’s a beautifully presented dessert that was enhanced with two more champagnes:  Laurent-Perrier Demi-sec and a Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec.   Michelle noted how they complemented the vanilla in both the poached pears and Chantilly Cream but still able to stand up to the tart pears and raspberries.

Now here’s the amazing thing!  The timing was so good that I wasn’t uncomfortably full at the end of the evening and I ate everything…. everything!   Tired but content, we headed home at 1:00.   What an evening, whew!

COOKBOOK CLUB NEXT DINNER:  I hope you are trying out various recipes from David Kinch's Manresa Restaurant cookbook.  Now that this dinner is out of the way, I will start working on my Arpége Egg.  Don't forget, March 8th for this gstronomical feat.  I will talk with Kinch tomorrow to hear how to prepare his recipes without a sous vide although my idea of the ziplock freezer bag with the air sucked out of it and using a rice cooker's "warm" setting might just work.  Stay tuned on this part.

Cook on!

A Traditional Christmas Dinner with the Kings

David called it a “Christmas lunch” but by all definitions, this one was a dinner, a NINE course dinner!   We were invited to join David and Michelle and their family and friends for a traditional English holiday meal to top all meals.  With the exception of the salad and desserts, David prepared every single complicated course, an amazing feat to begin with!

He and Bill scoured their cellars for wines to go with the extravaganza, so we not only had a different wine with each course, we often had 2-3 wines!  Seven hours later, we staggered home after washing a few dishes and glasses.  

Curious?   Here’s the menu:

Shitake won tons with hoisin beurre blanc

2002 Bonville Vuvé Les Belles Voyes Brut Blanc de Blanc

Jim’s Dungeness Crab with fuerte Avocado, crab bisque ikura & Benton’s bacon

2006 & 2009 Paul Pernot Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatiéres

Jerusalem artichoke soup with trompettes de la mort & crème Fraîche

2004 Marc Morey Chassagne-Montrachet Les Vergers

2008 Henri Boillot Puligny_Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere

Cured foie gras “a la Kinch” and quince cubes with mache & balsamic

2001 Château Doisy-Vedrines

2007 Château Raymond-Lafon

Wellshire Farms smoked ham with Cara-Cara Orange, star anise & vanilla glaze

Glazed chestnuts and crispy mustard spätzle with chantrelles

1997 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonneuhr Auslese Goldkapsel

2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehliner Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel

Ballotine of Goose, foie grase and chestnuts with goose demi-glace

Duck fat roasted Brussel sprouts

1988 Château Mouton Rothschild

1999 Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin

Salad of Baby Greens

Sandi’s Pear Tart Tartin

1990 & 2001 Château de Fargues

Tartine’s Bûche de Noel

N V Campbells Grand Rutherglen Topaque

The shitake won tons were a David creation after he and Michelle had some at a restaurant and his successful attempt to reverse engineer them.  The hoisin beurre blanc was what piqued their interest and as with many “appetizers,” I could have made a whole meal of these wonderful little bites.

We sat at the wine glass laden table for the next course of Dungeness Crab with the avocado, crab bisque ikura and crispy bits of bacon.   I like the 2009 Puligny-Montrachet but others like the 2006.  David opened another bottle early and liked the 2008 Puligny-Montrachet the most with the crab dish.   It was a delicate dish that combined the lighter crab and avocado with the crunch and sparks of salty bacon.  Divine, David!

I loved the small taste of the Jerusalum artichoke soup, accented with the black trumpet mushrooms and a tiny dollop of crème fraîche.   I tend to avoid sunchokes because they are such a hassle to peel but David said he just buys more than he needs and shaves off the knobs….now why didn’t I ever think of that?   We were treated to two more bottles of my favorite white burgundy.  As I mentioned, David opened one with the 

second course and then added the 2008 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet Clos de al Mouchére.   The wine pairings were spot on so far!

Now we get tot he first of the richer courses.  David has prepared the foie gras torchon from Thomas Keller's cookbook before many times, but for this dinner and because of the recent release of David Kinch’s cookbook, Manresa, he tried Kinch’s version.   Kinch’s version requires 10+ days to prepare so it was definitely a plan ahead dish.  David did not cure it for the required 10 days but for 8 days but it was time to take it out of the duck fat it had been sitting in and slice it for serving.   And, of coure, it was served with two sauternes:  2001 Doisy-Vedrines and a 2007 Chateau Raymond-Lafon.  I preferred the Doisy-Vedrines but other’s like the Raymond –Lafon.   This version of torchon had a very different texture than Keller’s.  We liked the texture of the Keller version but it may be because the one this evening didn’t cure the full 10+ days.  Bill and I think David needs to revisit this recipe and we are volunteering to be guinea pigs for his efforts. ;-)  David bought a bucket of duck fat for this dish that he generously shared with me so I see pommes frites in our future!!

Our next course was the Wellshire Ham and although I love ham, Bill and I rarely 

eat it because a side of ham is just too much food for just the two of us.  I am so glad when it’s served at a buffet or dinner because I can get my ham fix!  This one was moist and perfectly cooked.  It wasn’t too salty and the glaze with delicious.  The chestnuts added the English touch to the dish.  I’m not a big fan of spätzle so it’s hard for me to describe the ones in this dish.  Since it’s not really a noodle, pasta or dough, I can never figure out what to make of it.  With the ham, David and Bill selected Ausleses to counter the saltiness and richness of this course.

Now we get to the star of the meal - - THE GOOSE!   This one is deboned and stuffed with chestnuts and foie gras.  You can see in this photo how the foie gras is in the center of the stuffing but as it cooks, it melts into the stuffing so in the sliced goose photo, you can’t really see it.   The goose was delicious and very savory.  It had a wild taste to it that I really liked.   The Brussel sprouts were a perfect side dish to the goose, roasted until crispy in duck fat.Initially, the Burgundy tasted better than the Bordeaux but after the Bordeaux had aired for a while, the veggie quality disappeared and I liked it much more with the goose.   After all, what’s not to like with both a Burgundy and a Bordeaux?

Michelle prepared a lovely salad that did the trick to cleanse our palate and prepare us for a few of the desserts to come.  The pacing was really well done.  We had time in between each course to digest and savor each bite, sip some wine and enjoy the company of David’s parents, Michelle’s mother and friend, Susan.   Neighbors came and went, joining us for one course or another or to just visit for a few minutes.   This neighborhood is amazing; where neighbors are comfortable dropping in and children run in and out of everyone’s homes, making themselves at home wherever they are.    Many neighborhoods, like ours, are lives lived behind fences, or closed doors.   No one mows their lawns on Saturday mornings, rakes their leaves every fall, or washes their cars in the driveways anymore.   This little enclave of the 60’s brought back memories of our own childhoods.

I brought a pear tart tatin because it is a dessert that goes so well with sauternes.  I didn’t make this one sweet enough and should have brought some caramel to drizzle over it but it was a light dessert that seemed to please everyone.  The crust of the tart was an odd texture as well.  I’ve made this dish several times and in my efforts not to overbeat the dough, I think I under-mixed it.   The sauternes were actually sweeter than the tart so they were the highlight of this dessert!

Our traditional dessert, the buche de Noel from the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco was like a tiramisu, rolled up.  The buttercream filling had a coffee flavor and the cake and chocolate frosting with the sliced almonds had the same elements as a tiramisu.  By this time I was starting to feel full so I didn’t finish my slice but I can say that it was delicious and exactly what I expect from Tartine’s!   We enjoyed a red sweet dessert wine with this dish that held up against the chocolate and coffee in the Buche de Noel.

And, lastly, just in case we still had any space for any more food, I had made my snowflake cookies and few peppermint buttercream chocolate cookie sandwiches for everyone and the neighborhood children.   I was reminded how time consuming these cookies are but they were delicious and added to the festive air of this traditional Christmas dinner.

Thank you David & Michelle for sharing your holiday feast with us!   It was a dinner that paralleled any of our cookbook club dinners that 10 cooks prepared.   You made it sound easy but I know how much work it takes to cook that many courses, even with a great sous chef like Michelle!

Merry Christmas, everyone.