New Years Dinner 2010

I had a week off during the holidays and decided to plan a very lavish dinner party with my extra time. (Although, the dead of winter was probably not the best season to plan a 10+ course menu.) I rented the flatware, plates, and everything, even gathered a lot of resources/materials from friends to pull the whole thing off. And it was worth it. I’d only been cooking for 3 years at this point, but this was a culmination of everything I’d had learned, and it surprised me.

One of my two favorites was the Southern Fried Peking Duck. To prepare this dish, I de-boned a whole Peking duck, battered it, and fried it. I served it with a scallion waffle that imitated the chive pancakes you get at most Chinese places. The sides consisted of hand-cut apple noodles, an herb salad, and a Tabasco caviar which really made the dish for me.

My other favorite was the final course : Listerine. At least, that’s what I told my friends at the table. I asked them to gargle it for 30 seconds and after much resistance and hesitation, I managed to get them to swallow it. The palate cleanser was actually just a liquid infused with crushed mints that had been passed through a coffee filter. Pretty cool, huh?

And here is the full menu:

drinks

Tsunami
- blue curacao, midori reduction, coconut superfoam

Chai Nog | served before Christmas Ham
- egg nog, chai spices, housemade cardamom beignet

Beer Sangria | served before East Meets South
- triple sec, pear cider, asian pear puree, pink apple chip

Bo-ba |served before Fruits of Winter
- calpico, coconut rum, water chestnut encased in rose tapioca

amuse.one

White Truffle Xiao Long Bao |with Red Pickled Ginger
- pork, shrimp, white pepper, ginger, sesame oil

soup

Cauliflower Bisque | with Spiced Scallop and Curried Tempura Flakes
- pork stock, cream, u20 scallop, indian spices

salad

Frozen Baby Gem Lettuce | with Miso Caesar
- baby gem lettuce, ice berg lettuce, sweet gem lettuce

amuse.two

Foie Gras “Tako” Yaki | with All the Fixin’s
- foie gras torchon, sea salt, katsu sauce, chives, bonito flakes, korean seaweed, kewpie

main

Christmas Ham
Pork Belly Bhutabura | with garnet yam/ginger puree, sous-vide broccolini stems

Kobe Trifecta

Beef Tartar | raw kobe, furikake-flavored taro chip, fried sichuan peppers, xo sauce, raw egg, cilantro

Tataki | grilled kobe, daikon sprouts, mizuna, mache, ponzu
Steak Frites | seared kobe, dashi demi-glace, kasugai peas, potato fries

East Meets South
Southern Fried Peking Duck | with Scallion Waffle, Apple Noodles, Tabasco Caviar

dessert

Chicken Liver Brulee | Chawan-Mushi Style

Fruits of Winter

Pommelo Grapefruit Gelato|with Fairy Dust
Cactus Sorbet | made from Dry Ice

 Hachiya Persimmon Shortcake | with Gwertruminer Syrup  
Guavasteen Panna Cotta |with Cracked Pink Peppercorns and Gingered Ice

palate cleanser

Snow Melt | ice cold mystery distillation

Special thanks to:
Tony (sous)
Adrian (sous/photography)
Huy (photography)
Thao & Christina (decorations)