Commentary on French Laundry meal
This menu was for ten people. There was enough food, but it was not excessive (and we made it through 8 bottles of the wine).
Goat cheese cups were easy, relatively. We made some errors on the Parmesan cups first time around because of how quickly you have to bend the parmesan into the cup (we used small muffin tins to make twenty cups) before it hardens. Everyone loved these, but two per person was enough (they are rich).
The shrimp was lots of work and I didn't think it warranted it. We bought wild shrimp and it tasted good but it wasn't great. We made two shrimp per person and had about 3 or 4 left. The salsa is excellent but some people suggested adding mint or cilantro.
Pea soup is an enormous effort. Our friends took charge of that dish and it took them about 1.5 hours to complete it. It tasted wonderful. The better the peas the better the soup. I think we could have added more truffle oil or better truffle oil because it was hard to taste. Would I do it again? Yes, but not for a long time. A note on portion size: Keller says the recipe in the cookbook serves six, and I doubled it, but we barely had enough for ten. I think you almost need to triple it.
Tomato tart was a favorite. We cooked this before hand and then re-heated which seemed to work fine. I think if tomatoes aren't in season it's better to roast all the tomatoes to intensify their flavors. This dish demands tapenade and basil oil be made ahead.
The steak. What can we say, it was absolutely perfection. The meat practically melted in your mouth. I got the meat at Whole Foods and showed them Keller's instructions. They were a bit confused and it took three of them and myself to decide how to prepare the meat (a traditional butcher would probably have known better), but the cut of meat ended up being exactly what we wanted. We followed the instructions for searing on the cooktop and basting every five minutes. We thought we'd overcooked it when, after 25 minutes, it came out at 120 (Keller says 115), but it was perfectly medium rare inside. I can't say enough about how good this was (we bought 3.5 pounds and it just fed the ten of us; I don't know what I'd do if I did it again. I think it would take too long to get a bigger piece of meat. Maybe get two small ones (but it's hard to get small ones because it asks for a double rib steak).)
The potatoes were also a big hit. We heated this up about two hours before the meal and reheated and that worked fine (I doubled this and we had a bit left). The sweetness of the prunes really added to the taste. I did get grey salt as well. Whether it made a difference or not, is hard to say. I've made these potatoes without it and they always taste great. So I think it can be made without it.
The composed cheese course tasted great but I don't think it turned out how Keller says it should. I whipped the brie for ten minutes but it just got more and more dried out. So I added some half and half and then some cream. Finally, it seemed creamy but still had structure. Everyone loved it with the lightly dressed greens and the port glaze which was nicley sweet (we didn't even use 1/4 of the port, though).
Dessert was a bit of a disappointment. It's a lot of work and steps and it tastes good but not great. I would stick with the chocolate cookies and cinnamon ice cream recipe instead next time. I made the cookies a day ahead and they were not crispy when we put it together. The merigne's didn'n really hold up and it was really difficult to follow the directions to take them out of their bowl onto a towel to "dry" them and then slip them back onto a plate without them ruining. Finally, we dumped them upside down from the bowl, but even this didn't always work. Luckily, we could cover them with the cookie. The mint looked pretty but I couldn't really taste it.
We started cooking for this on Thursday, dividing up some of the pieces of each course on a pretty intricate schedule. There were two of us for Thursday and Friday prep and then two more people joined us on Sat. I'd say, total man-hours were 12-15 until we served the first course. But we had to do lots of work during the dinner as well.
All in all, it was a great meal and a great time and people seemed to enjoy it as well.
French Laundry meal, Feb. 28, 2009
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Starter: Goat cheese cups
Wine: Sterling Vinter’s Collection Pinot Grigio 2007
Amuse Bouche: Shrimp with avocado salsa
Wine: Milbrandt Vineyards 2006, Wahington State Riesling
Pea Soup
Wine: 2006 Clos-du-Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet Bourgogne,
Tomato Tart with Nicoise Olive Tapenade, mixed field greens and basil vinaigrette
Wine: Terra d'Oro 2006, Amador County, CA Barbera
Rias Baixas,2007 Burgans Albarino
Yabba Dabba Do: Roasted Rib Steak with golden chanterelles, pommes anna and bordelaise sauce
2006 Mario Perelli Minetti Cabernet Sauvignon,
2005 Charles Krug, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Cheese course: whipped brie de meaux en feuillete with Tellicherry Pepper and baby mache
Wine: Burgundy, esp. aged red
Salad Ile Flottante
Wine: champagne or Moscato d’asti
Commentary on seasonal/local menu
Seasonal Local food and wine pairing menu
I've got a dinner this weekend and am working on the menu. It's seasonal, local foods, so I won't finalize it until Saturday's trip to the farmer's market, but this is what it's looking like.
Seasonal Local Menu
August 30th, 2008
Appetizers
Toasts with chipotle goat cheese and heirloom tomatoes
With Pinot Gris
Peaches with Serrano Ham and Basil
With Rioja, white (no oak)
Tempranillo
Starter
Figs with Goat Cheese and Proscuitto
With Lemon Prosecco Cocktail
Soup
Melon soup
With Rioja, white or any Spanish white
Salad
Fri make dressing Spinach salad with maple Dijon vinaigrette
With Chardonnay (lighter style, unoaked)
Pinot Noir
Main
Spiced Pork tenderloin with Maple Chipotle Sauce
With Malbec or Tempranillo
Sides
Green bean and potato salad
Two corn polenta with tomato, basil and cheese
Dessert
Blueberry bread pudding
Chocolate cookies with vanilla gelato (using local Schaffenberger Chocolate)
Yogurt honey jelly with strawberries and roses (if I can find edible ones)
With Asti or
Ice Wine
Comfort Food with Wine Pairings
Comfort Food
Potato chips
NV Gruet Brut Sparkling Wine
New Mexico
Romaine sweet hearts
Crab dip
Chardonnay, no oak
Mission hill Riesling Icewine
Canada
Iceberg lettuce with blue cheese
Mixed greens with balsamic vinagrette
2007 Lucy Rose Of Pinot Noir
California
Kansas Ribs
California Zin
Pork cutlets
Pinot Noir
Bison meat loaf with shallot and tomato
2004 Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma
Mashed potatoes
Nantucket corn pudding
Green beans with country ham
Creamy jalapeno spinach
2006 Mason Sauvignon Blanc
California
Mac and cheese
2003 Narsai David Merlot
Oakville
Dinner rolls
Pecan pie
Lemon meringue pie
Sauterne or late harvest Riesling or Ice wine
Dulce de leche and chocolate chunk bread pudding
