The Weekend Tasting Series Menu: October 2007
Sorry for the outage here lately. I've been recuperating from The Weekend Tasting Series while also taking a bit of a hit at work. Overall, I thought the experience was a complete success. Some of you may know that I'm my harshest critic, yet I feel satisfied that the experience lived up to my initial vision. I thought I'd share the menu(s) and discuss a few cooking highlights for me.
Coming Full Circle
As I mentioned a while ago, I think the most exciting part about this blog for me is chronicling my cooking adventures for you on an ongoing basis, then seeing my menus come from the ideas on this site. For instance, you've read about savory waffles here before. And the idea behind Fig Rockefeller. And my favorite pork recipe. Or my thinking behind Vanilla Bean Ginger Bouillabaisse.
In many ways, it's a full circle interaction with those of you who actually come out and taste the finished result. I am a big fan of many blogs out there, food and otherwise, but what I often miss is the ability to be able to connect the website to a real, human experience. I'm excited that I'm posting food ideas and dishes on this site, but also giving readers a chance to actually enjoy them in person. Integrating the blog with my events wasn't always a goal, but I hope it continues. It seems to be mutually fulfilling for me and the guests who I spoke with at the events.
The Beauty of Smoked Duck
I'm going to save the smoked duck breast I featured in the third course for another post, but overall, it's certainly going to be part of my future arsenal. Go out and give it a try. Hudson Valley has a great smoked duck. You can even order some at Fresh Direct. One evening during the events, I served it warm as an accompaniment to soft cheese pierogies in a sage sauce. On the other nights, I served the smoked duck as an accent to slices of seared duck breast. Smoked duck and I are now beyond dating. We've kind of in lust right now. We're approaching love, so when it hits that level, I'll do a post.
Williamsburg Felt Like Home
I haven't spent much time shopping or cooking in Williamsburg (Brooklyn, for those of you reading from elsewhere.) I really didn't go to a big market for much of the ingredients I needed to fill in the gaps on a daily basis during the weekend. I went to a local, small butcher shop, a fish shop, a produce store, all within a few blocks from each other. I felt like I was thrown back in time to the quaint, hometown I have in my head, but seemed to have missed by only a few years before the invention of one stop shopping. Quite refreshing.
Flavoring Bechamel
You know the traditional bechamel sauce. I love spiking it with a single, pronounced flavor. In this case, smoky, spicy chipotle as a drizzle with fresh, warm figs.
Bottlerocket Rocks
I picked up all of my wine for the events at Bottlerocket. These guys are the real deal. They have a passion for pairing wines with food and flavors, and I really enjoyed working with them to pair the wine with the menu. Of the wines we served, I think the consensus favorite was the Clos du Prieur, Syrah, 2003. Big, delicious but not a crazy fruit bomb. A great, untraditional pairing for curry and pork.
Hope you can make it to the next set of events. The mailing list is the best way to find out about them the moment they are announced.
(PS. For those of you who attended the events, the above is the menu from 10/14. After the jump are the menus from 10/12 and 10/13.)
That all looks amazing. I am intrigued by the pancetta rosemary waffles. Is a recipe forthcoming ?
Posted by: Chicken Fried Gourmet | October 22, 2007 at 07:09 PM
i'll do my best to post about the waffles. i am having a camera meltdown, but hopefully that will be resolved shortly....
Posted by: JOE | October 22, 2007 at 09:53 PM
i really liked this whole post...not just section, but i was wondering if you might have some good recipes for pork you can send my way? I order alot of my pork from Celebrity Foods and i have ran out of way to cook it and i am getting board of the way i cook my meals! hahah!
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