Sunday Meals Part 3

One of the best meals we have prepared, full of local seasonal ingredients.

Lemon Basil, an amazing herb

Local heirloom tomatoes

Amuse of Creamy Polenta with braised shallots

My homemade lemon basil vodka martini....it tastes very similar to lemon cello

Recipe:

1 large handful of lemon basil, chiffonade

1 350l bottle of Svedka Vodka (any decent vodka can be used)

Wash and chiffonade the lemon basil, add to the vodka (remove approx 1/2 oz from the bottle first) and store upside down overnight. Strain and then re bottle.

The Lemon Basil Martini:

2 oz lemon basil infused vodka

1 splash dry vermouth

1/2 oz Kina Lillet White

Combine all of the above over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and then strain into a chilled martini glass. Enjoy with the following dish!

Trio of heirloom tomatoes: Heirloom tomato salad with fleur de sel, red wine vinaigrette, Roma tomato "Timbale BLT", with lemon basil mayo, and homemade tomato chutney and pepper crackers

From the top down (the best way to look of course) Toasted Rye Bread, lemon basil mayo, crumbled bacon, romaine lettuce, red Roma Tomato, lemon basil mayo, more bread, more mayo, more bacon, yellow Roma Tomato, mayo, bread.

Duck Confit with fresh and dried cherries, Cherry Kijafa Sauce

2005 Barbaresco, really really good

Jeong Woo plating the duck entree

Sauteed Duck Breast, Duck Leg Confit, over Fregola sauteed in duck fat, greens, cherry Kijafa Sauce, and micro greens.

An emergency dessert preparation, after a creme caramel disaster. Sliced peach with a Japanese sweet rice cake?, chocolate sauce, lavender, and strawberries. My System-D at its best.

And our dessert wine to pair with the peach rice cake thing....Florus tastes like fresh peaches, sweet like a Sauternes.

A palate cleanser between entree and dessert. A watermelon and chocolate mint popsicle. A new take on a sorbet course.

Sunday Meal Part 2

Eager to use the best of our local garden on the CIA campus, Jeong and I decided to see what we could "pull up" to use for our usual sunday meal. Featured in the photo below are a few of the best produce products available to the campus, such as: French Lavender, Fresh Celery, Lemon Basil, Green Peppers, Squash Blossoms, Cucumbers, Roses, and hot peppers.

To a group of cooks, it was an opportunity that couldn't be passed up.

Local as local can get, produce from the CIA campus

Just the extra herbs from the harvest

Tempura fried squash blossoms

A very crisp and delicious Sauvignon Blanc

Hot, sweet & sour Korean style soup

Lemon basil sauteed chicken with baby potatoes and a fried squash blossom

Assembly of dessert, take 1

Piping out the lavender chocolate ganache

My custom dessert pairing, a chocolate milano martini

Lavender Chocolate Mille Feuille with raspberry coulis

Sunday Meals Part 1

Another Sunday, another gourmet meal for my friends and I.

The centerpiece is a chive blossom.

Some baked phyllo dough for our dessert

Heirloom tomato and strawberry salad with homemade mozzarella and balsamic dressing

Ossobucco with sauteed spinach and creamy polenta

Baked phyllo stuffed with strawberries and yellow raspberries

3 Course Pork Provencal Dinner

After reading a book about life in rural france, there was one particular chapter about the old times when pigs were raised and then slaughtered to feed a family or town for the upcoming winter. Along with this description about the ritual was a particularly delicious sounding recipe for Provencal style pork stew. It sounded so delicious in fact, that I made it my goal to try as best as I could in recreating it for a dinner. Along with my chef friends, we set about making ourselves a 3 course meal to die for. Below: Hamachi tartare salad, Pork Provencal with Foie Gras Mash, and a Graham Cracker Cobbler.

Here is the pork recipe for those that are interested.

Pork Provencal:

3-4 lbs pork shoulder, cut into cubes (leave the fat on)

1 lb carrots, large diced

1 shallot, small diced

Olive Oil

3 leeks, sliced thin

Dijon Mustard to taste

Capers, minced

1 bottle of Cote du Rhone or similar red wine

1/2 cup water

Rosemary, minced

Salt

Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 375. In a large pot or dutch oven, put 1/4 in of olive oil on the bottom of the pan. Once hot, slowly some of the pork and cook till brown. Remove from the oil, and continue till all the meat is browned. Add  the onion and leeks to the pot, and cook till tender. Deglaze with all the red wine, being sure to scrape up all the brown bits (fond) on the bottom of the pot. Add the carrots and the pork, and add the water. There should be enough liquid to fully cover the meat. Bring to a simmer, and cover. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 2 hours, or until the meat is tender and shreds apart with a fork. Remove from the heat, and remove the carrots (optional). Season with salt and pepper, then add 1 or 2 heaping tablespoons of the dijon mustard and 2 tablespoons chopped capers. Mix and serve hot.

(Leftovers are great tossed with some pasta)

Our table, with a fresh herb centerpiece. The purple flower you see is actually a chive bud flower.

A simple Vouvray to pair with our Hamachi appetizer.

Putting the finishing touches on the salad.

Hamachi tartare with belgian endive.

Cervice style Hamachi sashimi

Pork Provencal with Foie Gras Mashed Potatoes

An amazing wine, Lolonis "Orpheus" Petite Syrah

Late Harvest Riesling

A very impromptu Graham Cracker Peach Cobbler