I seem to be surrounded with people who are obsessed with food. Everywhere I go that’s pretty much all folks want to talk about. My friends and family have long hinted around about getting in on the blogging action. So why not let them? Here is a guest post courtesy of my friends Tony and Lyana. Enjoy!
What happens when you combine three of my favourite foods, sweets and drinks together? Easy. Magic in a bowl.
I experienced that magic when my wife and I were invited to CoolFoodDude’s place for dinner. This dude pulled out all the stops. The meal was incredible from beginning to end. But one dish resonated with both my wife and I: his spin on Thomas Keller’s Five-Spice Roasted Lobster with Port-Poached Figs and Beurre Monté from The French Laundry restaurant cookbook. We spoke about it on the drive back home. Imagine this: chocolate, lobster and coffee… all in one dish. That happened to us that fateful night. Listen, you wanna talk about palette overload? This dish had it all. It was savory, sweet and injected with my go-to drink that keeps me going day in and day out: coffee (salivating as I type). Man, it was bananas. Arguably one of the saddest moments of my life was saying goodbye to that last bite. I almost ate the plate!
Keep in mind that this is coming from a guy (me) who was privileged enough to grow up in a family of chefs, so the CFD should be proud. His cooking is always extraordinary and top-class, but on this night, it was on a whole other level, and, we were honoured to be a part of it.
I still dream about it at least once a week. I think about it at least twice a day. Thanks CFD, I’ll never be able to enjoy another lobster. Unless you make it for us again! But you know, whenever you have the time. No rush or anything.
Is it wrong to use food as a reward? I mean, everyone has got everything these days. How do you say ‘well done’ in an extra special way? Beautiful baubles? Tantalizing tchotchkes? Nyet! Food is the answer. What says ‘I love you and thank you for being exemplary human beings’ better than Thomas Keller’s Five-Spice Roasted Lobster with Port-Poached Figs and Beurre Monté? Nothing else, really. So I set out to reward two individuals that I hold dear with a full-out extravagant gourmet feast.
Once a year I like to feign that I am a real chef. Maybe Thomas Keller or possibly David Chang or perhaps even Daniel Humm. I spend a solitary night in this make believe world channeling their talent and artistry. Although I unabashedly admit that I do possess one minor ability. I have no fear in the kitchen. I am absent of any anxiety or worry of failing. While other areas of my life leave me hiding under the covers, I see the kitchen ripe for trial and experimentation. Not certain why I exude such culinary confidence but I don’t question it much. No thinking allowed, just doing. So with the help of some cookbooks to guide me and some close friends to come along for the ride, I attempt an annual fancy dinner party with the goal of honouring some of the great chefs and restaurants of our time.
First up, Duck Confit Croustades. This dish is from the Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook. A baguette smeared with dijon, topped with duck confit, fleur de sel, olive oil and parsley. Simple and delicious.
Croustades with duck confit
The next course was foie gras with a maple balsamic reduction. This recipe is by Daniel LaGarde, Chef
Instructor at Le Cordon Bleu. Foie gras (with black truffles) set on sautéed apples, strawberries, shallots and basil and served with a maple balsamic reduction. This was my favourite dish of the night.
Seared foie gras with black truffles and maple balsamic reduction
The third course was from the Eleven Madison Park cookbook. This restaurant currently sits at #10 on Restaurant Magazine’s list of best restaurants in the world. The recipe of Beet Salad with Chèvre Frais and Caraway was by far the most challenging dish of the night. It took a while to bring together the roasted beets, the goat cheese mousse, the caraway tuiles, the beet raspberry vinaigrette and the rye crumble, but it was certainly well worth the effort as my guests raved about this creation. The variety of textures and tastes made this dish unique and memorable.
Beet salad with chèvre frais and caraway
A side view of the beet salad
My second favourite chef of all time is Thomas Keller, he of French Laundry and Per Se fame (Julia Child is my favourite). I’ve turned to the The French Laundry Cookbook on numerous occasions and it has never let me down. For the the main course, the recipe I chose was the Butter-Poached Lobster with Creamy Lobster Broth and Mascarpone-Enriched Orzo. Some of the interesting features of this recipe included the lobster broth (made form scratch), the beurre monté (emulsified butter), the coral oil (canola oil infused with lobster roe) and the parmesan crisp (mine were a bit oversized but I have trouble resisting their appeal). I do hope that I was able to bring some French Laundry justice to this dish. My guests were rather pleased with the results.
Butter-poached lobster with creamy lobster broth and mascarpone-enriched orzo
A top view of the lobster
Dessert is my favourite part of the meal to eat but my least favourite to cook. Finding something to complement such a rich repast was not easy. I went with a recipe from LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine, Coconut Lime Mousse with Berries. It was a good counterpart to the other dishes and a bang-up way to end the meal.
Food & Drink’s Coconut Lime Mousse with Berries
Another year passes, another fancy dinner party is now under my belt. I am forever grateful to have friends that endure my culinary experiments. It could all go horribly wrong and yet they are forever willing to weather the gastronomic storm with me. The great chefs of our time are my inspiration. But the people in my life are truly what drive me to do better and be better.
This post is part of a weekly series celebrating the extraordinary legacy of Julia Child leading up to what would have been her 100th birthday on August 15, 2012.
Thomas Keller is one of the premier chefs in the world. He is the only American chef to have been awarded simultaneous three star Michelin ratings for two different restaurants, French Laundry in Napa Valley and Per Se in New York City. What with Thomas Keller having achieved the industry’s top honour, one wouldn’t think that anything could intimidate the fabled chef. But he readily admits to Wine Spectator magazine that he and his staff were “nervous wrecks” when it came to cooking for Julia Child, who would often chill out in the kitchen of the French Laundry before eating her meal.
In the three videos below, Thomas Keller talks about the incredible culinary legacy left behind by Julia Child and the most important lesson he was able to learn from her. Hope you enjoy!
