Dinner with Kevin & Kristie's friends-12/27/2022

Tasting Menu

First course: Egg Arpege

This dish was crated by Alain Passard from the 3 Michelin star restaurant Arpege..  Click HERE to see preparation.

The Arpège egg is a surprising mixture of warm and runny egg yolk, layered with a cold lightly whipped cream mixed with a hint of sherry vinegar, and drizzled with maple syrup, and  all served in the shell!

The egg is coddled for 10 minutes under barely simmering water just to warm up the egg yolk and you get a very nice combination of hot/cold, sweet/salty, all in the same bite.

2nd course: Crostini with poached prawn, squid ink aioli and served with shrimp bisque

This dish is inspired by Bestia, a popular restaurant in L.A.

Ciabata bread is toasted for crispiness and then smeared with a squid ink aioli and topped with prawns are poached in butter.

Lots of fresh herbs (mint, Thai basil, dill, and Japanese shiso) are added and each one of them add a unique flavor to the dish.

The crostini is served with creamy shrimp bisque.  Click HERE to see preparation

Cheers to friendship.

3rd course: Hamachi, mango salsa in a ponzu, ginger, honey sauce.

Hamachi has a mild taste and a firm texture.  Here it is paired with a mango/avocado salsa and a ginger honey ponzu sauce.

It always like this dish.  It has a lot of umami.

4th course: Pan seared foie gras, sautéed blueberries in a balsamic reduction sauce

Foie Gras is a popular delicacy in French Cuisine that is usually served during the holidays.

Pan seared Foie Gras has a rich, buttery texture that just melt in your mouth.

Click HERE to see preparation

5th course: Uni pasta

This dish was created by Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin, the 3 Michelin star restaurant in New York city.    This is one of Hoa's favorite pasta.  It is rich, creamy, and simply delicious.

Cheers!

So nice to see that everyone is having a good time.

6th course: Duck two ways-East meet West

On the left is Duck "sushi" with Yakumi condiment (ginger, green onion in hot oil, wasabi) on a onion pancake.

On the right is a pan seared duck breast, peppercorn sauce with sautéed corn.

7th course: Grilled Pork cheeks with sautéed Mushrooms, French fries, mojo verde sauce.

 This dish was inspired by Teleferic Barcelona, the Spanish restaurant in Palo Alto.

Pork cheek is an underrated cut.  It has a chewy and rich texture that is very special.

Cleanse palate: Panna cotta with Passion fruit.

8th course: Galette des rois (almond cake)

Galette des rois, celebrating Epiphany, the day the Three Kings (les rois) visited the infant Jesus, is baked throughout January in France.  It is made with puff pastry and a frangipane (almond filling).

9th course: Donuts with peanuts sauce.

Dinner was a success!  Everyone enjoyed the food and had a great time. So glad we were able to host a nice dinner and be able to catch up with everyone.

Filed under: Dinner Parties