Holiday 6 course tasting Menu- 12/7/2024

Invitations are sent out, table is set up, and it is time for the first holiday dinner party of the season.  This year I wanted to have a fancy festive sit down dinner party with a lay back atmosphere so everyone can enjoy good food, great wine, and lots of conversations around a convivial table.

Tonight we have 14 people over for dinner and the table is decorated with a festive mode.

It is time to bring out my Christmas and holiday china dinnerware for a festive tablescape.

Menu is printed together with name tags.

I created a long centerpiece in the middle of the table with lots of Christmas decorations to make it extra festive for the holiday season.

Starting the evening with an Old fashioned cocktail!  Made with a smoky Lagavulan 16 years , it was a hit! 

Michael enjoying his Old Fashioned cocktail.

Our guests mingling.  Even Noodle (Hanh and Tuan's dog) is here to join in the celebration.

While our guests are mingling, I am plating the first course.

First course: cured salmon poke, avocado mousse, served with fried wonton (no pictures of the wonton)

Cheers everyone!

From left: Tuan, Hanh, Steven, Tracy, Helena, Phu, Me, and Hoa

Fom the right: Joseph, Michael, Joelle, Maily, Cindy (standing) and Thomas

We are very happy to have everyone over for a the first dinner of the Holiday season.

Let's start the first course!

Platting the second course while Thomas and Phu are chatting with me in the kitchen.

Second course: Cauliflower soup with pan seared scallops, homemade croutons, beurre noisette, and chives.

The taste of the cauliflower was very delicate and was enhanced with the beurre noisette (brown butter), the sweetness of the scallop, and the crunchiness of the croutons.

I am a bit surprise of how deliciousthis soup is.  considering that cauliflower does not have a lot flavors.  The soup is also perfect to served on a cold evening as it just warm up your soul.

On to the third course....Yesi is my helper and she does an excellent job platting with me. 

Third course: Mushroom and ham croquette, sautéed shitake mushroom, in a spinach fondue sauce.

The croquette is crispy on the exterior and oozing with a béchamel sauce in the inside.   I wanted to make this dish to look like a walk in the forest with a mushroom growing our of the grass.

Plating the 4th course.

Fourth course: Butter poached lobster, enriched mascarpone orzo, lobster bisque, parmesan tuile.

This dish was a hit!  Recipe from Thomas Keller of the French Laundry (3 Michelin star) and each time I served this dish, I get a lot of compliment. 

The flavor of the broth is really amazing (it took me a good 3 hours to reduce the sauce, therefore the flavors are elevated).

Fifth course: Grilled lamb chop with escargot butter

Fifth course: pan seared wasabi crusted salmon in escargot butter.

For the fifth course, our guests had a choice of either the lamb chop or the salmon.

Both dished were served with two side dishes served in a cocotte.

On the left is a potato stew and on the right is a grilled mixed vegetables.

We had such a good time that we forgot to take a picture so this is half eaten dessert picture.

Sixth course: Crème brulee Napoleon served with caramel sauce and on the right is an Alsace style cheesecake.

I got a lot thumbs up for the napoleon.  It was light, crunchy, and so satisfying with the richness of the crème brulee and the caramel sauce. 

The Cheesecake is also very light and very delicious.

After dinner Phu opened the 2000 Quinta Do Vesuvio, a 24 years old port that is absolutely fantastic!

Described by Wine Enthusiast: Quinta do Vesuvio is owned by the Symington family but managed separately from the family's shipping brands (Dow, Graham, Warre).Vesuvio's immense terraces and vast open lagares for fermentation, have produced a suitably dense, dark, brooding 2000, perfumed with violets and bursting with solid tannins. This is a great vintage wine.- — Roger Voss

Everyone brought a bottle of wine to share and we drank 7 bottles of wine and a port.

Tuan wanted all of us to have a whisky sample so he brought these 3 bottles.

The first one is a Hibiki Suntory whisky described as very easy and smooth to drink and served a palate cleanser.

The second bottle is a Lagavulin Islay single malt scotch whisky aged 12 years with very distinctive smokiness and amplified by a herbal smoke, stewed plums, orange peel and oaky spices.

The third bottle is a Highland Park 19 years bottled by Duncan Taylor is a complex, extremely sophisticated, and balanced flavor profiles.

Filed under: BBQ, Thanksgiving, Christmas holiday, New Year parties