We had dinner with another couple at their down town loft. We did the food, they provided wine.
Two French sparkling ciders, both from Normandie, but very different from each other
We began with smoked eel from Petrossian. I would have got a piece of cod roe as well, but they were
out. Unlike the one other time we had a Petrossian eel, this was a small package of skinned and
boned meat. Two pieces about 6 inches each.
Next, two dozen Wellfleet oysters. I made a mignonnette of shallots and raspberry vinegar but these
were good enough that nobody wanted anything but lemon juice.
Champaigne, real but an unfamiliar name.
Then came a vegetable course. Barbara tried a recipe in the Daniel Boulud cookbook that was
assembled from baked zucchini slices, sun dried toato slices, a pesto made with zucchini as
well as basil, a ricotta filling (ricotta, grated parm (we used pecorino romano), parsley, egg
yolk, OO, S&P.
After assembly on the plates the "lasagnas" are garnished with a "tuile" of grating cheese (PR
again) bked on a sheet and cooled over a wine bottle. SOmething like a big snowflake.
Then bison tenderloin steaks, seared on an iron pan and finished rare in the oven.
Accompanied by a risotto (made the traditional way) with a stock that I made the day before from a
left-over pheasant carcass browned in the oven, some dried porcini, and the usual onion carrot and
celery. Sauteed quartered criminis and sliced shiitake caps finished the risotto.
Ridge Geyserville 1996
Salad of greenhouse mache and cherry tomatoes from Yaphank, dressed with garlic from Keith's Organic
farm, EVOO and balsamic.
Two French chevres.
Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Jimsomare 1994
A galette of three kinds of pear, bought from Balthasar.
Pear cider, from the same orchard as one of the apple ciders before.
Chocolate truffles.
Cognac
Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a
MOM CASTS TOT IN CEMENT
Most experts voice cautious optimism