tammylc

Made my first attempt at this bread last night/today, after careful reading of this entire thread. I used 468 grams of King Arthur bread flour, as suggested in RLB's blog. But it was far too dry with only the specified amount of water - I ended up using 14 3/4 ounces (weight - I switched modes on my scale part way through). 2 1/2 tsp Morton coarse kosher salt. The consistency was great when it was done the 18 hour ferment - wet, but not too wet to work. Unfortunately, it stuck horribly to my floured towel, so the finished loaf is not pretty. I also didn't get much oven spring at all. Here's the pretty side of the loaf, where it didn't stick. And here's the ugly side: Not being a huge fan of a really thick crust, I only left the lid on for 20 minutes, then about another 25 with the lid off. I thought the temperature was good, but in retrospect I probably should have left if another five - the bread was a bit moist. And, as others have said, not particularly flavorful. But the crust is just marvelous. Here's the inside: Next time I'll try the oiled bowl trick. And maybe proof it longer before baking - I think it wasn't quite ready. And my pot is pretty wide, so I probably should increase the amount of dough to get some better height.

I've heard really awesome things about it, but haven't had a chance to try it yet. It's totally on my list.

They look great to me, Anna! Reading about your exploits is making me want to try my hand at molded chocolates - up until now I've just been doing handdipped truffles. Is there an eGullet demo thread anywhere that is a good beginners guide to molded and filled chocolates? Or a book I should pick up?

Looks like a great meal. I'd totally eat that, pregnant or not!

According to the Bravo blogs, the cameras didn't catch any evidence of the alleged olive oil squirting.

Definitely ask. I ate every food that's on the no-no list when I was pregnant. (And drank wine too - somebody better call the pregnancy police!) Not frequently, and not in large amounts, but given that I ate tasting menus at Trio, Tribute, Citronelle and Maestro when I was pregnant, I wasn't about to miss a minute of those chef's creations, or offer up a long list of foods I couldn't eat.

I guess it depends what you mean by positive reviews. A review could contain negative comments (like, food was great, ambience sucked or a negative comment on a particular dish) and still - on-the-whole - be a positive review. I think having a policy of only publishing restaurant reviews for places you liked could be okay. Especially if, as somone mentioned, you call the section "recommended restaurants" or some such. But if by positive review you mean one that only contains positive comments, then I'd be might suspicious of that and wouldn't give much credibility to the source. Even at my best restaurant meals, there's been something that's worthy of negative commentary, however slight.

We did convince them to let us split a pairing and do mini-pours, and it was still too much wine - the half pours were more like 3/4 pours. I am convinced that the way to do this is for one person to order the wine pairing, and for both people in a couple to drink out of the single glass. I really just want a sip or two of the wine, and this seems like the best way to achieve that. I love that Martian baby line - I wasn't even there, and it cracked me up!

You clearly weren't hitting the Farmer's Markets in August then - tons of awesome raspberries that put those nasty Californian things to shame. http://tammystastings.blogspot.com/2006/09...wo-berries.html

Last week I cooked a variation on the burnished chicken thighs with sweet potatoes and parsnips I cooked back in April. The recipe is from a Fine Cooking article, and calls for cooking the chicken and the veggies on the same pan, so the juices mingle. This is a very tasty way to cook it, but - as I discovered then - not very feasible with only two small ovens. But I wanted to do it again, because it's such a tasy recipe. So this time I just cooked everything separately. I remembered this as being a pretty easy meal, and it is, but it require a lot of sequential oven useage, which meant I spent more time cooking than I really wanted to. It wasn't helped by our decision to make cake for dessert - it was very near to both my birthday and one of my assistant cook's birthday, so let's just say it seemed like a good idea at the time... Shopping List 80 chicken thighs (2 per adult, 1 per child) 6 lbs tofu (1/2 lb plus per veggie) 2 jars grainy mustard 1 bottle basalmic vinegar 15 lbs sweet potatoes (an increase from last time, but still not enough) 7 lbs parsnips (about right - some tables ran out, but others had extras) 12 sliced bacon 1 bunch parsley 2 chocolate cake mixes (I know, I know - I just didn't have the time for scratch!) 2 cans evaporated milk 1 dozen eggs 1 lb butter 2 pkgs sweetened coconut 1 lb pecans salad greens ice cream I had some adds and some drops after I closed the meal, so I ended up with around 31 adult meat eaters, 9 veggies, and 15 kids. I've already turned in my paperwork and receipts, but I'd guess it came out around the usual - $4.50 or so. So, unlike the usual situation, there was plenty of meat, but not really enough sides. Oh well - there was plenty of food. First thing I did was to get the cake and frosting out of the way. I was making my own frosting for the German Chocolate cake(makes up a little bit for the cake mix, right?) and that had to chill for a good while first. While the cakes were going in one oven, I baked the sweet potatoes in the other. Then I had to get the chicken marinating - the thing I'd forgotten about this recipe is that it calls for a 1-8 hour marinade, so even though the active work is low, there's a significant time investment. Also, it takes a LONG time just to trim 80 chicken thighs. I marinaded at the tofu at the same time, but it really needs an even longer marinade, as the marinade didn't really penetrate. Once my assistant cooks came, we mashed up the sweet potatoes that were already baked. We could have used at least 20 lbs, I guess. The parsnips were cut up and roasted. All of this had to happen before the chicken went in (about an hour before service) so then we had to keep everything warm somehow. We covered the parsnips with foil and they were fine, and we set up a double boiler thing for the sweet potatoes. I thought I was going to have about 15 minutes to throw things back in the oven at the end, but I got my temperatures messed up, and started the chicken too low. Fortunately it came out well in the end and was perfectly juicy. One of the main problems with this meal is that the majority of the work is done by the time my assistant cooks come on duty. So we were able to get the kitchen really clean. And when I realized I'd forgotten salad greens and ice cream, I was able to send an assistant cook out to get them with no problem for timing. But given that I was trying to come up with an easy meal for that day, so I could spend time working on other projects I had happening it didn't really meet that goal. My November travel schedule for work is crazy, so I'll be looking back through this thread for previous meals and meal ideas that really are easy. I end up cooking three times in a week and a half - Nov 22, Nov 26 and Dec 3. I've set jambalaya as the menu for the first one, because that really is a walk in at 4 and be done by 6 meal for me. Now I just need to find a couple others like that. One of my meals in December will probably be another "Dinner at the Great Oak Bistro" , as the friend that I did that with last time is interested in coming in again. We're still working on the menu, but it will certainly be ambitious. We're planning to start with a double soup, then serve a main course that will be either rabbit or quail. Yes, we're crazy.

Did you ever consider that your evil intentions may backfire and he may actually like the p-a-c?!? ← Happened to me. Liam went through a phase of always wanting "Daddy cheese" - Kraft singles (you can guess from the name who eats those in this house). Now, to be fair, he was still scarfing down blue cheese and goat cheese when we had it around, but his palate is pretty non-discriminating at this point, it would seem.

My chocolate story... I took a truffle making class run by a local store, and realized that I already knew nearly as much as the instructor, and could learn the rest better from eGullet. I took the ganache we'd made home and tried tempering and dipping on my own the next day. It turned out so beautifully and easily, that I decided I'd try making some truffles to sell to my friends and neighbors for Mother's Day. Then the orders started coming in, and as I quickly got up to over 200 pieces I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. The tempering and dipping which had seemed so easy the first time didn't go quite so effortlessly the second time, but it worked out in the end. I've done a lot more reading and learning and two sales since then, one for Father's Day and one for Halloween. I've recently started a conversation with the owner of a commercial kitchen, so I can have the option of selling at a wholesale level to local retailers or whatever.

Okay, I'm done my cassoulet making, so can report on it now. First off, I should say that this is all ronnie_suburban's fault. I spent the night at his house last week when I was visiting Chicago, and he sent me home with some of his homemade charcuterie - a package of maple-cured bacon, and a package of Toulouse-style sausages. "Perfect," he said "for cassoulet or something like that." Hmm, I think my myself, I've always wanted to try making cassoulet. Famous last words. Fortunately I found this thread. I decided to make cassoulet and invite a bunch of people over to eat it and celebrate my birthday. Unfortunately, this was a rough week to engage in such a project - I cooked common meal for my community on Thursday (dinner for 57) and had to fill orders for 220 truffles by Sunday. So I've been a little busy. But I persevered, and managed to procure all the necessary ingredients from several different stores: 2 lbs of pork belly (although my butcher actually gave me three - any suggestions on what I should do with the pound I have leftover?) and 1 lb of pork rind 3 boar sausages 3 Toulouse sausages from Ronnie 4 legs of duck confit 2 lbs of Great Northern beans (I couldn't find anything more authentic locally, and didn't have the time to mail order) I basically used the Bourdain/Les Halles recipe. But, as mentioned in a previous post, I was up late last night dipping and packing truffles, so while I had dutifully put the beans on to soak Friday night, I just didn't have time to get everything assembled and the first cook in on Saturday. So I wasn't sure what to do. In the end, I cooked it low and slow for about 4 hours early in the day today, then put it out on my deck to cool for a few hours, then popped it back in the oven before serving. I didn't get a very good crust (didn't cook it long enough the second time), but otherwise I thought it turned out pretty well. I borrowed a ceramic pot from a neighbor, but it wasn't nearly big enough, so I also used an enameled cast iron pot. The consistency was slightly better from the ceramic pot. I was glad to have so many people over for dinner (9 adults, 3 kids), because it made a HUGE amount. Definitely a good meal for a crowd. I served it with a 2001 Domaine de la Tourade Font des Aieux Gigondas, which I thought worked pretty well - it had enough oomph to cut through the richness and the fat. Thanks for all the help! It was a fun experiment. I don't know if I'd make it again - it was a lot work, and since I bought confit rather than made my own, expensive too. But if I'm ever called upon to make authentic French cassoulet, I'll know I'm up for the challenge! (And next time I'll pick a better week to do it.)

I've spent the last few days making all the candy for my Halloween Candy for Grownups sale. I had orders for about 220 candies. All laid out and ready for packaging: The flavor assortment: L to R: Pumpkin Seed Praline, Coconut Ghosts, Candy Corn, Caramel Apple For the pumpkin seed praline, I caramelized sugar and mixed in toasted pumpkin seeds, then cooled it and chopped it up fine. The ganache was 8 oz butter, 11 oz chocolate, and 6 oz of praline. These were dipped and sprinkled with extra praline. The coconut ghosts are 12 oz chocolate, 8 oz coconut milk, and 1 tsp coconut extract, coated in chocolate and rolled in unsweetened coconut. The candy corn are just a plain chocolate ganache, dipped in tempered chocolate and garnished on the top and bottom with candy corn. For the caramel apple, I made an apple cider infused caramel. I started by reducing 2 cups of apple cider down to 1/3 c. From there, the recipe goes: 2/3 c cream 6 tbsp butter Heat to boil, then set aside 1 1/2 c sugar 1/4 c corn syrup 1/4 water Cook to light brown Add cream, butter and apple cider, cook to 250 degrees. Taste is great, but my caramels spread a lot even after they were coated. I'm new to caramel, so any advice on dipping caramels would be appreciated for next time I try this. Is there a recipe that would yield a firmer caramel? Do I just need to cook it to a higher temperature? (Although I like the texture a lot, and wouldn't want them much chewier.) All boxed up for gift giving:

I didn't have time to do the assembly and first cooking yesterday. If I'm going to do it all today, should I cook and cool it and then cook it again, or can I just go with some low and slow technique and cook it all day? (Using Les Halles recipe.)

Okay, after a too-long delay, my Schwa write-up is finally up on my blog. I'd repost it here, but I'm too busy (and sick) to upload all the pictures again. http://tammystastings.blogspot.com/2006/10/schwa.html One interesting thought that came to me as I was writing it up was that even though the menu included three foods that are in my "don't like much" category - cantaloupe, eggplant, olives - I liked everything I was served and definitely consider this one of my top meals. Kinda cool.

I'm about to begin my first venture into cassoulet - I have sourced most of my ingredients, and will begin soaking beans tomorrow for dinner on Sunday. Unsurprisingly, I haven't been able to find any tarbais beans, and don't have time to mail order. What's the next best alternative? My choices are Great Northern, cannelini, flageolets or French navy beans. I'm using the Les Halles recipe and will post about my progress as I make some, but I'd love to hear opinions on the bean question. Thanks!

The cheese list is really great, so for me I think it would be salad, cheese course, and LOTS of dessert. Excellent blog, Danielle! I saved it up until Friday night and read it on the train home yesterday - it was a great way to pass some of the time. It was great to see you on Friday, and to explore Chicago with you virtually as well! Oh - I checked, and I was at Hot Doug's around 1:30, so we just missed each other on Thursday.

So, as a friend of mine is saying, Alinea is more ride than meal. It's hard to remember enough detail about 23 courses to make any coherent commentary later, but I will at least attempt to give some impressions. <b>Hot Potato, cold potato, black truffle, butter</b> A classic. I love the way the black truffle lingers on the palate long after that single bite (and slurp) is gone. <b>King Crab, vinegar, aromatics</b> This was beautiful to look at - the crab encased in a crystal clear gelee of rice wine vinegar. The sushi rice was perfectly seasoned, and there were a bunch of little garnishes - ginger, black pepper, microlemongrass, saffron, etc. <b>Trout Roe, cucumber, coconut, bonito</b> This was a great combination - beautful trout roe from Michigan, creamy coconut pudding and avocado puree, a sheet of lime rock, a drizzle of cilantro juice, and a sprinkle of bonita powder, all topped off by a cucumber foam. Light, refreshing, perfectly in harmony. And the wine pairing was a hint of great things to come - the Naiades Verdejo, Rueda, Spain 2004 was a prefect match, with hints of cucumber and lime to echo the food. <b>Akayagara, radish, coriander, poppyseed</b> No picture for this one - it was served in a round bottom bowl, so we ran short of hands. A fork topped with the akayagara (at type of fish) fit into a slot atop the specially made bowl, and the poppyseed milk was in the bottom. <b>Matsutake, mango, peanut, yuzu glass</b> Matsutake mushrooms from Oregon were served three ways here - pureed, dicked and sauteed, and dehydrated. As with many of the items on the menu, there were a ton of other ingredients - mung bean edamame, mint juice, mango peanut curmbs, soy nage, yuzu "glass" - but it managed to come together some how. This wasn't one of my favorites, but my tablemate liked it a lot. <b>Rabbit, cider, roasted garlic, smell of burning leaves</b> We liked to call this one the "pot" dish. Who knew that burning oak leaves smell just like pot? A glass containing smoke was carefully placed over the food, and then lifted up at the table. Grant Achatz is well known for these dishes that use various aromas to put you in a particular frame of mind. In this case, we found that we could also taste the smoke in the dish. With cider gelee and garlic puree, black pepper and thyme, this was a perfect seasonal dish, and it was served with a cup of lovely rabbit consomme. <b>Peach, smoked paprika, carrot</b> Peach juice is captured inside a hollow shell of cocoa butter, carrot juice and smoked paprika. The fragile shell breaks and the liquid rushes out, so our server made a point of warning us to be sure our mouths were closed lest we soak the person on the otherside of the table... Interesting, although I wasn't tremendously fond of the way the cocoa butter felt in my mouth. <b>Kobe Short Rib, beets, cranberry, campari</b> Even though it's not mentioned in the description, this was as much about fennel as beets. There were shaved fennel, fennel puree, and fennel fronds. The beet side included the beet-campari sheet covering the short ribs, a single golden beet, and an interesting dehydrated beet ribbon. I was already starting to get full, so I took a short course on this one, trying a bit of everything, but not finishing it. Very dramatic plate. <b>Black Truffle, explosion, romaine, parmesan</b> (times two) I'd had the black truffle explosion (BTE) once at Trio, and was excited to see it on our menu at Alinea. To my tastes, the wilted romaine was a much better accompaniment than the broccoli puree, adding a little bit of texture as well as good flavor. The second BTE was even better than the first, as presumably because it was an extra course, it was hotter when it arrived. <b>Squab, huckleberry, sorrel, long peppercorn</b> A plethora of squab presentation - leg, breast, crispy skin, some confit - with a huckleberry sauce and three fresh huckleberries, a long peppercorn custard (yum) and some micro sorel. Beautiful plate, this one. We noticed them bringing our plates in, then whisking them off again - a huckleberry had moved out of place and had to be adjusted before they could serve it. The wine for this course (Hermitage "Cuvee Emilie," Domaine des Remizieres, Rhone 2002) - easily my favorite of the night. <b>Concord Grape, frozen and chewy</b> By now I was ready for a change of pass, and a few cold bites were just the thing. No picture again, as we found that the dishes served without a plate were really hard to get pictures of. In contrast to earlier and later courses that contain a laundry list of ingredients and garnishes, this was simply a lozenge of concord grape puree, frozen on the anti-griddle. It was intensely grapey, and the texture was really interesting. <b>Chestnut, blis maple syrup</b> Another little frozen bite, and this one I liked quite a bit. A sweetened frozen disk of chestnut puree, with a little divot to hold a pool of maple syrup that has been matured in bourbon casks, and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt to bring it all together. <b>Crabapple, cheddar, eucalyptus, olive oil</b> Clearly the kitchen had had enough with simplicity, judging from this next course. Let's see if I can decipher the notes well enough to list all of the accompaniments to this tangy frozen crabapple mousse - tellicherry pepper tuille, crispy sage leaves, extra virgin olive oil jam (yes, jam), ecalyptus sauce, cheddar custard, sweet onion marmalade, and a cherry blossom. Phew! It was fun to taste all the garnishes alone, with the crabapple, and in varying combinations. The wine pairing for this one (Pfeffingen Ungsteiner Herrenberg Scheurebe Spatlese, Pfalz 2003) worked really well. The grape variety is a hybrid, and it had some of that foxiness that you get from hybrids, which meant it actually could stand up to a dish with eucalyptus in it! <b>Quince, prosciutto, orange, juniper</b> This was one of the famous "antenna" dishes. Pierced on the end of the antenna was a roulade of pureed and dried quince and prosciutto. Other flavors included braised mustard seeds, bitter lemon, micro cilantro, juniper, and a honey glaze. <b>Shellfish, gooseberries, horseradish, celery ice</b> I'm a celery fan, so this one worked really well for me. Celery leaves, and celery ice topped a shellfish sponge, and diced celery sat underneath it along with a pool of gooseberry coulis. A single meat each of crab and mussels garnished it all. Very nice. <b>Hamachi, buttermilk, blackberry, green peanuts</b> The hamachi was topped with a roasted peanut topping of some sort, and green peanuts were sprinkled underneath. It was garnished with blackberry sauce, some sort of buttermilk concoction, and tarragon leaves. This smelled great, and I wanted to like it more than I did - it was a fine dish, but the hamachi is a very fishy tasting fish, and that didn't work so well for my tastes. <b>Bacon, butterscotch, apple, thyme</b> Hanging from a wire was a perfectly crispy strip of applewood smoked bacon, wrapped with chewy butterscotch and apple leather. A single tasty bite of salty sweet goodness. <b>Lamb, date, mastic, rosemary aroma</b> Three pieces of lamb sat sizzling atop a 450 degree rock. Our rosemary table decoration was fitted into whole in the stone to give just a hint of rosemary to the proceedings. (This brought my back to my first meal at Trio, where we had a dish with rosemary vapor, created by pouring boiling water over rosemary leaves.) The lamb was perfectly done, but then the rock gave it a really nice sear on the bottom - you had to be careful how you ate it, lest you burn your tonge. The three toppings where a mastic cream, a pickled date puree, and a red wine braised cabbage. Nice wine pairing for this one as well - Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, S. Rhone 2000. <b>Bison, gruyere, pumpernickel, ramps</b> The presentation on this one is fascinating. Cubes of cold smoked North Dakota bison sit atop a ragu of plumped raisins with Worcestire sauce, and the whole thing is buried beneath a pile of dried gruyere and shreds of toasted pumpernickle bread, and garnished with pickled ramps. Surprisingly good. <b>Raspberry, goat milk, red pepper taffy, pistachio</b> Rasberries and roasted red peppers... fascinating. Combined, we were told, because they were both red. Okay... But all in all I have to say it worked pretty well. Lots going on here - raspberries were filled and wrapped with a chewy red pepper taffy, and set upon lavender pudding and goat milk tapioca. Pistachio came in three forms - a puree, a tuile, and a brittle. And the whole thing was adorned with a blanket of raspberry sauce. It looks like it should be some sort of solid, the edges are so perfect. We asked and they let us in on the secret - the raspberry sauce is frozen on a sheet of acetate. The frozen strip is laid over the dessert, then the acetate is peeled away and the sauce allowed to melt. What a clever way to get a really dramatic presentation! <b>Licorice Cake, spiced with hoja santa leaves</b> Neither of us being licorice fans, we were a little worried about this one, but it was actually a very nice spice cake. Once you got to it, anyway, which involved peeling away parchment paper, then the hoja santa leaves that wrapped the cake. Accompaniments included a sweet potato cream, roasted something with licorice leather (we're 22 courses and XX wines into the meal at this point, so you'll have to forgive the quality of my notes!), muscovado gellee, and oranges stewed in some sort of Mexican liqueur from the Yucatan. <b>Chocolate, bergamot, cassia, figs</b> This was a little ridiculous, as course 23 out of 24. At least an ounce of dark chocolate, right on the dividing line between liquid and solid, atop a sheet of dehydrated chocolate mousse, served with a scoop of cassia bud ice cream, and some stewed figs. A bergamot flavored black tea is poured into the bowl right at the table. We couldn't possible eat it all - I think I took one bite, just to say I had. I know that over-the-top death by chocolate desserts are popular, but this was totally overkill. I would have been much happier with a single spoonful of chocolate at this point in the meal. <b>Caramel, meyer lemon, cinnamon perfume</b> The final course was another that brought back fine memories of Trio meals. Then, it was crab and meyer lemon on a vanilla bean, this time it was chewy caramel, meyer lemon, and a cinnamon stick. Both crispy and satisfying bites, though. I know some people have left Alinea hungry, but this was not one of those nights. We were both stuffed to the gills, but happy and satisfied. We stopped in the kitchen to chat with chefg on our way out, and he was gracious and friendly. I was impressed with the evolution of his food from Trio to Alinea, and told him that - there's a level of maturity and polish that seems new. While there were certainly dishes I liked more than others, there weren't any clunkers anywhere on the menu, something I wasn't able to say after my trips to Trio. All in all, it just seemed very refined. Which, in some ways, made the experience a little less fun - the service was a little more formal, the atmosphere quieter and more reverent, somehow. Anyway, it was a fabulous meal, and a fabulous evening. Service was fabulous too - doubly so when we realized the next day that I'd left my umbrella at the restaurant, and someone from the staff took the time to deliver it to our hotel, since we weren't going to have an opportunity to be back that way.

Thanks. My friend took the photos, as his camera was better than mine at working in the low light conditions with no flash. Also, I found that I couldn't do it all - take pictures, notes, and pay attention to the food, so I was ready to abandon the photographs anyway. We're both pleased they turned out so well! Wish I could say the same of our Schwa photos, although I'm still hoping that I can Photoshop them into something better than they are currently. Anyway, as to your question - the glass is actually a tube. It gets lifted up at the table. More later.

Menu and pictures. Porn now, commentary later. Wine for the first two courses (upgraded pairing) was Nicolas Feuillate Brut Rose "Palmes d'Or" Epernay 1997 Hot Potato, cold potato, black truffle, butter <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_9676.jpg" title="" > King Crab, vinegar, aromatics <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_29842.jpg" title="" > Trout Roe, cucumber, coconut, bonito Naiades Verdejo, Rueda, Spain 2004 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_15680.jpg" title="" > Akayagara, radish, coriander, poppyseed Matsutake, mango, peanut, yuzu glass Pra Soave Classico, "Monte Grande," Veneto 2003 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_3224.jpg" title="" > <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_36234.jpg" title="" > Rabbit, cider, roasted garlic, smell of burning leaves <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_10484.jpg" title="" > Peach, smoked paprika, carrot <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_6386.jpg" title="" > Kobe Short Rib, beets, cranberry, campari Cabanon Bonarda "Boisee," Oltrepo Pavese, Italy 2003 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_9005.jpg" title="" > Black Truffle, explosion, romaine, parmesan <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_24353.jpg" title="" > Black Truffle, explosion, romaine, parmesan <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_24353.jpg" title="" > (No it's not an accident I'm including the same photo twice. They were nice enough to bring us another...) Squab, huckleberry, sorrel, long peppercorn Hermitage "Cuvee Emilie," Domaine des Remizieres, Rhone 2002 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_16691.jpg" title="" > Concord Grape, frozen and chewy Chestnut, blis maple syrup Crabapple, cheddar, eucalyptus, olive oil Pfeffingen Ungsteiner Herrenberg Scheurebe Spatlese, Pfalz 2003 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_34132.jpg" title="" > Quince, prosciutto, orange, juniper Shellfish, gooseberries, horseradish, celery ice Raventos i Blanc "Perfum de Vi Blanc" Pendes Spain 2004 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_41211.jpg" title="" > Hamachi, buttermilk, blackberry, green peanuts F.X. Pichler "Loibner Berg" Riesling Smaragd, Wachau, Austria 2003 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_14207.jpg" title="" > Bacon, butterscotch, apple, thyme Lamb, date, mastic, rosemary aroma Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, S. Rhone 2000 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_40085.jpg" title="" > Bison, gruyere, pumpernickel, ramps Bodega Mustiguillo "Quincha Corral" El Terrerazo Spain 2003 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_4539.jpg" title="" > Raspberry, goat milk, red pepper taffy, pistachio Malvira Birbet (Brachetto), Langhe, Italy <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161300941/gallery_7436_3762_11984.jpg" title="" > Licorice Cake, spiced with hoja santa leaves Tamellini Recioto di Soave "Vigna Marogne" Veneto 2000 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_25714.jpg" title="" > Chocolate, bergamot, cassia, figs De Bartoli "Bukkuram," Moscato Passito di Pantelleria 2001 <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_15034.jpg" title="" > Caramel, meyer lemon, cinnamon perfume <img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1161261524/gallery_7436_3762_4870.jpg" title="" >

Excellent meal at Schwa tonight. Totally different experience than last night at Alinea, but every bit as good. I'm hoping the pictures turn out okay... More later.

From our conversation with one of our waiters, when they originally brought the black truffle explosion back for the first anniversary dinner, it was exactly the same as it had been at Trio. But on this pass they had made a small change, which was substituting wilted romaine for the broccoli puree. We liked this a lot more and thought it was an excellent substitution. I don't know if anyone's linked to this yet, but there's a brief interview with chefg over on Hungry Magazine, talking about his decision to bring back some previous hits as encores on the regular menu. It takes about 5 minutes to listen to. Basically, he talks about how with the restaurant being so busy lately, they don't have time to experiment, so adding some tried and trues back into the rotation is one way to free up some time to do that. Makes sense. There were a few blasts from the past on our menu last night - hot potato cold potato, and the butterscotch bacon were the others. Since it was my first visit to Alinea, I was happy to have them there!

At long last I have made it Alinea! It was definitely worth the wait. It's going to take me a while to get pictures uploaded and a report written, but I wanted to chime in while it was all still fresh to say - wow! Very fun. Our captain and all our servers put up with our silly antics quite well. We liked the black truffle explosion so much that we jokingly asked for another. And 8 or 10 minutes later, what should appear at our table but another round! Awesome. Our sommelier, Scott, was great. The wine pairings were all that was promised here and more - there was absolutely marvelous matches. And the food was wonderful - there were some things I didn't like as much as others, but there was not a clunker in the bunch. And to top it off we had a nice chat with Chef Achatz in the kitchen on our way out - I was impressed that he remember me from my kitchen table trip to Trio two years ago, but I suppose we were awfully rowdy...

Very glad to see you blogging this week. And excited that I get to make a guest appearance! See you Friday!