La Figa

[hhlodesign]

Tonight my friends and I had a going away party for our friend Emma. We hired Tibero Simone with La Figa to come to my house and give a cooking class. Tibero has been cooking all over the Seattle area for a few years, including stints at Crave and the Four Seasons. He prepared a 6 course dinner, while giving us lessons the whole time. It was around a 3.5 hour experience and he charged us only $60 a head for it.

We started with Champagne mango salsa crostini.

He started prepping the first 2 courses before the guests arrived. So that we would have something to munch on right when people showed up. Champagne mangoes, orange bell peppers, some jalepeno, italian parsley, and good olive oil. Very refreshing.

He also prepared the mushroom spinach strudel for the guest as they arrived.

portabella mushrooms, carrots, and basil, rolled in phyllo dough. Very nice.

Our salad course was Volcano asparagus salad with orange dressing, butter lettuce, shaved fennel, monchego cheese, avocado, and truffle salt.

He called this volcano asparagus because he got the dry pan really hot first, added some fleur de sel, then the raw asparagus, then, when everything was really hot in the pan, olive oil. The asparagus almost jumped out of the pan. Very cool!

He showed us a great technique of cutting parchment paper to fit the bottom of a cake pan with the back of a knife.

and mixed up a flourless chocolate cake.

The pasta course was homemade gnocchi.

We had so much fun rolling the gnocchi, I forgot to take pictures. Sorry!

The sauce was very simple. Burnt onions (his words) with cherry tomatoes, some absil and mint, and fresh mozz. He added the gnocchi to the pan after it was cooked through and a few ladles of the pasta water. Very simple sauce but ddelicious nonetheless. I only got a pict of the early stages of the sauce:

The main course was halibut cheek cartoccio with rocket parsley almond pesto; served with grilled belgian endives and wilted rapini.

The sauce created from the pesto in the parchment pouch and the halibut juices were incredible!

Dessert was the flourless chocolate cake with rasberry sauce.

I learned that frozen rasberries are sweeter than fresh ones because the ones they freeze are overripe. I was amazed at how easy the sauce was to make. He just blended frozen rasberries with some sugar and strained it.

All in all, it was a faboulous night of food and education. For cheaper than if we went out to eat. I highly recommend La Figa.

Edited April 15, 2006 by hhlodesign (log)

[Mallet]

How many people attended?

[pupcart]

Thanks for the photos and detailed description al La Figa's great work - the food looks so delicious I might have to attempt to re-create some of it for an Easter brunch tomorrow - although it would be serious fun to have it created for me! Looks like you had a lot of fun at this party - great idea.

[hhlodesign]

How many people attended?

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We had 9 people total.

[Ling]

That looks like a lot of fun!

[Abra]

That endive and rapini (or is it gai lan?) preparation looks very nice. I covet your grill. And you got a really good deal - I'd have charged more!

[hhlodesign]

And you got a really good deal - I'd have charged more!

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We'll have to pay the premium for Rolling Bay Gourmet next time!