Hogwart's Classes Chef's Table

Once again everyone did a spectacular job.  Such creativity, such inspiration, such flavors.  There were no F grades, everyone clearly earned their A’s

So let’s go through our magical meal.

Pam started schooling us right by actually creating a classroom experience for us to learn Transfiguration.  And she did it with our Aperitif—a color changing cocktail.  First she gave us our vodka and special ingredient (red cabbage juice) which appeared to be a nice purple color.  Then we emptied the magic powder from our foil packets (backing soda) which made the drink become a richer and darker purple, almost bluish.  But then came the final touch.  And when lemon juice was added the drink instantly became a bright and inviting pink color.  Oh yes, and it was delicious.

Michelle’s Divination appetizer was also an experience.  One the popular forms of divination was the Chinese practice of reading the solidifying mystical shapes of egg whites dropped in boiling water.  (Pam read the symbols that appeared and divined that each of us had some sort of travel coming up soon, and would result in profit. 
So inspired by the egg, Michelle made mini-quiches with spinach cheese tomato and herbs and a stick of Chinese sausage—representing the Chinese divination sticks that are also used.  (By the way, Pam had those, too, so we each picked one to add to our fortune).

Pauline is apparently the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and she thought long and hard about what kind of soup would best represent preventing spells and hexes and bad magic.  The answer seemed obvious when she looked for foods that have a reputation of doing just that.  In this case, sage and garlic—known to have many cleansing and medicinal benefits.  Add that to a “feel-good” butternut squash soup and you have a satisfying dish.

Lawrence followed up with a show of his own.  First he demonstrated his Alchemy by pouring a tasty mescal tequila over the filet, then lighting it aflame.  After it cooked completely, we were called back in to witness the transformation of a delicious dish, the fish covered with strips of sweet peppers as well as hot poblanos.

Then it was time to visit Scandinavia where we learned about rune stones.  First Ben offered everyone to choose from their basket of “magic wand” breadsticks—each one different.  The dough being a tasty and traditional Finnish bread with cardamom.  Since Swedish meatballs are a popular dish, Ben too all the flavorful ingredients (including spices like nutmeg, cardamom, allspice and clove) that would normally make up the meatball—minus the meat—and made pancake platforms upon which filet mignon slices were placed (after dusted in the spice mix and pan fried in Finnish butter).  On top was placed a rectangle of puff pastry upon which was drawn with lingonberry jam each of the Chef’s first initial in the Rune alphabet.  When they were served, each Chef also got the interpretation read of what their letter/rune stone means. 
The dish was also garnished with little “stones” of pickled cucumber, another traditional Scandinavian dish.

And if that wasn’t enough, John dazzled us with not only his Dessert, but a little lecture on the History of Magic—specifically the story of “Bertie and Battie” and the early days of Hogwarts.  Turns out that in the story Bertie made cauldron cakes.  So John followed her example and presented us with rich and moist chocolate cupcakes shaped like little cauldrons, with pistachio mousse filling.  And a slice of treacle torte on the side.

We were all delighted.

But we couldn’t quite break the spell and Pam had added one last treat—the after dinner drink.  A close representation of the legendary “Butter Beer” soda with a shot of dark rum and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and we were all under a spell of “satiatium”

First, Jennifer delighted us with her Pre-Dinner Drink of home infused cucumber gin blended with homemade lemonade.  An unlikely pairing that worked so deliciously.

And Pam had gotten wind of the gin which helped inspire her simple, yet highly traditional and very balanced and tasty hors d' oeuvres.  Homemade oat crackers with a perfect slice of cucumber and a piped swirl of cream cheese topped with caviar (one of a few “firsts” for some of our chefs, who now like caviar.)

Kathleen Dooley continued the traditional flavor with an authentic Yorkshire pudding.   Tender slices of beef perched atop a succulent eggy pastry filled with horseradish cream.

Next up, the soup course.  John’s presentation of his creamed carrot and celery soup, speckled with shaved carrot and celery and dried basil, and a side of his soft and flavorful homemade rye bread.  Yum.

Suzy provided another first for many as she presented her delicately cooked sweetbreads.  When done poorly, these are not tasty.  But when done well, these can be heavenly.   These were perfectly divine.  Tender, full of flavor and covered with a perfect blend of capers, lemon juice and wine sauce on a bed of fresh spinach leaves.

Gail announced that “Releve” (her part of the meal) means “joint of meat” so she took on creating a rack of lamb (another first for the CT)

Served with a mushroom pilaf.  Despite a little glitch with the thermometer, the lamb turned out tender and tasty, forcing many of the lovely “ladies” to take off their gloves to gnaw on the bone and suck up the juices.

My roast course was generously provided by my neighbor Glen, who had hunted back in November and had trimmed his own deer, giving us two cuts of loin that are the most tasty and high priced cut of meat.  The marinated medallions were served with a Darjeeling tea sauce and a red wine and juniper sauce.  Also with a side of wild mushrooms and sage and a fan of sliced apples with a pomegranate orange wine reduction.

As we know, Michelle doesn’t do thing simple.  She gets a part of the meal called “Entrement” which is the transition from dinner to dessert.  So she provided two parts of her dish.

The first part was Broiled Cauliflower with béchamel sauce and cranberry cheese, sharing the plate with a custard tart and a cheesecake filled tart.  Both tarts were flaky and delicious.

But there was more.  And her palate cleanser of granny apples soaked in honey and calvados sorbet was the perfect way to end the meal.

Or rather, to begin dessert.

Steve placed in the center of the table a glorious Trifle.  Three layers of pound cake, frango choco raspberry liquor, cheesecake custard, a dusting of dark coco powder, blackberries and raspberries and then whipped cream.  Three layers,  mind you.  And to top it all off, it was garnished with a beautiful red rose.

Seconds (and perhaps even thirds) were had by many.

But of course we couldn’t end it at that.  There was also a second dessert from our second newcomer Shawn Dooley (no relation).  His contribution was a surprisingly moist and light bread pudding (which are typically dry and heavy).  Perhaps it was the bourbon that aided that, along with apples,  cinnamon and a cranberry custard, topped with a lovely whiskey and orange sauce.

And they had also brought along a sumptuous bottle of port that they shared with us.

The perfect ending to a perfect dinner.

(In fact, thanks to our resident Somilier Steve, and his new partner in wine, Kathleen, we had a different—and perfectly paired—bottle of wine with each dish.  Thank goodness the portions of everything was small.)

Everyone brought their A game.  Everyone raised to the challenge and brought delicious food, presented beautifully and tied in with the theme.

"We Didn't Start the Fire" Chef's Table summary!

Sorry for the delay in the summary gang. 

But suffice to say, it was another “hit” at the Chef’s Table as we were inspired by the 114 historic moments listed in the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel.  The events from the 1940s to the late 80s that have shaped and changed the world, both positively and negatively.  Political events, sports, celebrity sensations and just about everything else you could think of. We all chose numbers randomly and were assigned the corresponding event and then left to create our own inspired dishes.

Our evening began as John shared his Bay of Pigs Invasion Aperitif.  Of course it all happened in Cuba, so a Mohito was the perfect way to begin.  Tasty Bacardi rum (that actually began in Cuba) with fresh squeezed lime juice and crushed mint.  Refreshing and delicious.

Michelle then presented her Amuse Bouche inspired by Adolf Eichmann Nazi War Criminal.  Turns out he was an animal lover and a vegetarian.  She also know she wanted to have a traditional Jewish component, so she started with a layer of spaetzel and then covered it with a chip of baked bake and parmesan cheese and then toped it with fresh made humus.

Then Aimee “knocked it out of the park” with her Brooklyn Dodgers Winning the World Series appetizer.   After research, she came across a recipe for a “corn dodger” which was a smaller version of a corn cake.  Topped with goat cheese,  bread crumbs and herbs De province, it was the perfect combination.

It was then time for my Joseph Stalin soup.  Turns out despite being a very bad man, he also loved food.  In fact, one of his favorite dishes was a lamb dish called “Chanakhi” with eggplant, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and handfuls of cilantro, basil, parsley and a whole head of garlic.  Slow baked into a stew it warmed whatever is Russian for “cockles”.  (And might I add, it was even better the next day.)

The best follow up to a Russian soup is a Russian salad—specifically Suzy’s Communist Block 1953 dish.  She decided to acknowledge the peasants that were affected by that part of world history so on her bed of arugula there were different types of warm beets (also rich in iron… get it?  The Iron Curtain?  Her joke, not mine.) with goat cheese, toasted walnuts and a balsamic vinegar.

Sadly it was finally time to leave Russia, but on the good side, we traveled over to England in time to coronate the new Queen, Elizabeth the 2nd.  Kathleen did a double side dish.  The first was quinoas cooked in earl grey tea with diced sweet potatoes, and also parmesan crusted tempura green beans served with a Dubonnet and gin BBQ sauce.  Turns out her favorite drink was Dubonnet and gin (and since Kathleen had brought her bottle of Dubonnet, we just had to try the Queen’s nightcap.

But the evening wasn’t over.  It was a “double header” for baseball tonight as Pam presented her “California Baseball” hot dog.  The line refers to when two teams left the east coast to California, marking the first time baseball officially crossed the Mississippi.  And this wasn’t just an ordinary OSCAR MEYER, but a freshly made POLISH hot dog. Topped with sliced avocado, sprouts and homemade mango chutney, you just can’t get more California than that.

Thank goodness we had room for dessert.  Since Gail was assigned “[The Sicilian] Mafia”, it seemed like a no-brainer to make cannoli.  And if she had done that, it would have been a delicious success.  But no.  She had to go and make mascarpone ice cream packed with pistachios and chocolate chips and served with fried cannoli dough.  It was an offer we couldn’t refuse.

All that was left was Shawn’s Payola after dinner drink.  This term referred to Illegal payments that were made for playing songs on the radio.  He realized that it was all about money and since it’s all about the money, there’s no more appropriate cocktail then “the millionaire”.  Bourbon, orange Curacao, grenadine and framboise in an elegant martini glass rimmed with pomegranate sugar.  And to top it off, a bourbon soaked cherry and chocolate covered cherry garnish.

All in all, it was a wonderful success.

And while there were still 95 other parts to the song that we could have gone through (would have been really interesting to see what else would have been created) it was time to move to another theme.

-ben