Valentine’s Day
All Level II students, including myself, chipped in to prepare this week's "Sunday Supper", which falls on Valentine's Day. It was decided that the menu would be served as a pre-fixe dinner running all weekend starting tonight. So with just a title of each dish to work from given to us by Matthew Kenney, we each were assigned a component to create from scratch. I made the "caviar" with hijiki (a sea vegetable) as appetizer. Rich in minerals, when consumed over time, hijiki promotes hair growth and is purported to restore gray hair to one's original color.
Hijiki Caviar
Yield: Approximately 1 cup
Ingredients
1 cup hijiki
2 cups filtered water (for soaking hijiki)
2 teaspoons grapeseed oil
½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
Preparation Method
- In a medium-sized bowl, soak hijiki to rehydrate.
- Rinse hijiki thoroughly with cold water until water runs clear. Drain.
- Transfer hijiki to a cutting board, and using a sharp knife, cut the hijiki into 1/8" thick pieces to resemble caviar.
- Place cut hijiki into a bowl, add oil, then season with salt. Mix well.
- Transfer into a serving bowl. Enjoy!
Almond Flour Toast, Creme Fraiche,
Sea Vegetable Caviar
Baileyana Chardonnay
Red Beet and Chevre Terrine, Lentil Sprouts,
Pecan Oil, Parsley Juice
Chateau Roland La Garde
King Oysters, Avocado-Meyer Lemon Puree,
Black Peppercorn, Vin Glace
A to Z Riesling
Vanilla Bean Merengue, Raspberries, Ginger
Warm Cacao Dacquoise,
Hazelnut Truffle and Citrus Buttercream
Tiamo Prosecco
In my lifetime, I've been quite fortunate to work among gifted artists during my tenure as a professional actor, singer and dancer on Broadway, and then much later as a exhibited painter while at the Art Students League in New York City. But that was eons ago. Nevertheless, it has taken me years of study and discipline to develop an "eye" for taste and the aesthetics. Fast forward to the present, and I am truly astounded and humbled by the exquisite beauty that my fellow classmate Anjela creates with food. Art truly transcends all forms of expression, as evidenced by her work. This classic beet and goat cheese pairing takes on a whole new meaning with her artful interpretation.
The best part of the following entree prepared by another classmate was the black pepper sorbet. Cool!
I sincerely wish you could taste this vanilla bean merengue with raspberry sauce. Candied ginger bits are in the vanilla ice cream. Oh, my Goddess! And then the warm cacao dacquoise and truffle. Wow!
Lucky me, starting next week I get to work with the amazingly gifted pastry chef, Kelly Dennis. Period. End of story!
When I opened up a box of fresh mushrooms delivered this morning to the Cafe for my Asian Station mise en place, I found this. Beautiful, isnt' it? Should I take this as a sign of what's to come?
