Tonight's Dinner

A dinner into the wee hours with the Mendelsohns. I had fun with the retro aperitivo.

• mortadella, scamorza and olive on a toothpick
• baby squid & persillade crostini with aioli
• san daniele and apple salad
• ossobuco and risotto Milanese, gremolata
• mozzarella & fennel salad
• Michelle's prune & oloroso sherry ice cream

Foie Gras & Hazelnut Sauce

From Hong Kong's 3-star Italian restaurant, Otto e Mezzo (I believe the only 3-star Italian restaurant outside of Italy). Nice establishment and people although in my humble opinion the food certainly isn't 3-star. But this dish was fab. Talking to the amiable chef Bomba, he nicely spelled out the recipe for me, proudly proclaiming what a match in heaven foie gras and hazelnuts is, and I couldn't agree more.

foie gras du canard
light chicken stock
dark chicken stock
reduced marsala
balsamic vinegar
hazelnuts

1. toast hazelnuts, remove a few and chop finely
2. warm the stocks, combine with other ingredients except the balsamic
3. blitz and pass through a sieve
4. warm gently, add just a bit of balsamic vinegar to taste
5. the sauce shouldn't be like a puree nor should it be runny
6. pour sauce into small warmed bowl
7. sautee the foie gras, place in sauce, and sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts around 

Tonight's Dinner

Actually not tonight's but last week's dinner in London with Etroys, Maurins, Letondots and Anne-Emmanuelle. Casual and relaxed, including some current favorites.

• Carottes Rapees & Speck
• Celeri Remoulade & Smoked Salmon Filet
• Buffalo Mozarella & Marinated Fennel Salad
• Haricots Vert and Shredded Ham Hock Salad
• Boudin Blanc, Pommes Flambees & Mustardy Vinaigrette
• Jerusalem Artichoke Puree, Seared Scallops & Morcilla
• Cheese & Caramelized Onions
• Chocolate Cake, Orange Salad & Single Cream (from the ladies)

Dressed Castelfranco

Tonight I decided that castelfranco is probably my favorite radicchio. Somewhere between a traditional radicchio and crispy lettuce, it has just the right balance between sweet and bitter. Dinner at Domani tonight was special because they invited guest chef Jacob Kennedy from London's Boca di Lupo, one of my favorites. Andrea the chef introduced me to Jacob, I mentioned to him that I used to buy castelfranco from Gelupo, the store next door to his restaurant in London. Once the veal tartare and truffle was served, chef Jacob surprised me with a lovely castelfranco salad to accompany the suckling pig, grapes and chestnuts. This is the way he made it.

castelfranco leaves
best quality EVOO
best quality balsamic
toasted young peeled almonds (or hazelnuts)
maldon sea salt
ground pepper

1. make vinaigrette, toss with castelfranco
2. roughly chop almonds, sprinkle over salad

Tonight's Dinner

A casual dinner with the girls tonight: Alice visiting from London, Virginie from Geneva and the wife. A lovely time had by all.

• bresaola bombs
• leek vinaigrette David
• carrottes rappees and mimolette cubes
• cured cucumbers, yoghurt & dill
• tarragon & cornichon celeri remoulade, smoked salmon
• parmesan polenta & foie gras d'oie
• Virginie's Mandarin Oriental cheese cake

Paris Observations

A few places that pleased this last trip.

• Camelia (1st): Guy Martin's bistro at the Mandarin, absolutely perfect for a summer day as there is a quiet terrace in the courtyard of the hotel. Highlights were an open ravioli with dressed turtle meat, a squid ink orzo with a lemongrass and ginger emulsion and braised summer greens.
• Les Boquinistes (6th): a Guy Savoy bistrot on the Quai des Grands Augustins, a good standby and bargain if in the neighborhood and craving a table with a view. Our meal wasn't extraordinary but very good quality. Best dish was an amuse bouche of cold pea soup and whipped almond cream.
• Brasserie Thoumieux (7th): a pleasant surprise; what used to be a tired old brasserie and hotel is now the bistrot of Jean-Francoise Piege's (ex-Crillion and Ducasse) more elaborate two star restaurant upstairs. Thoumieux focuses on comfort food, including a unique calamari carbonara which I will reproduce soon, essentially a spaghetti carbonara replacing the pasta with long slices of squid. Michelle had an Asian-inspired broth with cod, cilantro and tiny cubes of foie gras. Unexpected and fun. The dessert of banana, vacherin glace and lime foam was also fresh and fun.

Pea & Almond Cream Veloute

Had this at Les Bouquinistes in Paris, one of Guy Savoy's bistrots. A rather unremarkable meal overall but this little amuse bouche was impressive. This is roughly what I made out the chef to make in his tiny and noisy kitchen.

fresh or frozen peas
chicken broth
white onion
maldon sea salt
ground pepper
single cream
almond essence

1. make a pea veloute using all above ingredients except whipping cream and almond essence. Pass through a sieve a couple times so that it is nice and smooth, refrigerate.
2. make whipped cream using the latter two ingredients, refrigerate
3. fill a tea cup with pea veloute, then add a nice dollop of the almond cream and serve