Steamed Mussels in a Habannero-Peanut Butter-Honey Sauce, Pickle and Roasted Red Pepper Relish, and Banana Chips

When I first started thinking about this dish I thought of all the different combinations of peanut butter sandwiches. Hence the use of honey, pickles, and bananas; but I only wish I had thought of marshmallow fluff before I started cooking.

A Tasting of Duck 5 ways, from 5 Cultures, with 5 Different Fruits, in 5 Courses

Starting from the far left and going clockwise we have:
(Italian) Cantaloupe, Goat Cheese Sandwiches wrapped in House Cured Duck Prosciutto, Port Wine Reduction; (Asian) Cold Noodle Salad, Green Tea Smoked Duck Breast, Plum Sauce; (Thai) Kiwi-Coconut-Red Curry Soup, Shiitakes, Gingered Duck Confit; (German) Pan Seared Duck Breast, Apple Cider Braised Red Cabbage, Apple Chips, Gewürztraminer Duck Demi Glace; and (French) Duck Confit Crepe, Grand Marnier Ice Cream, Orange Crème Anglaise, and Fresh Tarragon.

Grilled Lamb Chop wrapped in Rosemary Cotton Candy, Potato Funnel Cake, Parsnip Dust, Baby Carrots, and Peppermint Schapps Gumdrop

I would like to dedicate this dish to my sister who bought me a cotton candy machine for my 28^th birthday this past June. It is not that I did not like the gift it just took me a while to use it in a culinary application. I had to experiment with the machine and with sugars a lot to figure out how to flavor sugar in a savory manner. I am still a little unsure on the subject, and I’ll definitely be doing a lot more research and tests. A friend emailed many companies that sell the floss sugar to get an idea on how the process works, but no answers were given, just sale pitches to buy their products. Anyways, I went with a carnival approach for this dish. The potato funnel cakes were a blast to make and with the parsnip dust in place of the powder sugar it really made a nice finishing touch to the savory starch. The homemade gumdrop added a little flair to the dish. I should call this dish “Carnivor-val”

Oxtail in Chocolate Mole & Ancho Dusted Scallops on a Teetor-Totter, Yellow Pepper Soubise, Pumpkin Seeds, Roasted Pablano Jus, and Anato Oil

It never ceases to amaze me how some dishes start out and how they end up. For this dish I wanted to do something seasonal, or at least use products that people relate to the cold season. I decided to use hot chocolate. Everyone loves hot chocolate! I also wanted to use shellfish since they reproduce in the spring and are best harvested in the cold water. My original idea was to a make a deep, rich, and thick hot chocolate using Mexican Chocolate, substituting the marshmallow for little bay scallops, which had been dusted in ancho powder and lightly seared to represent roasted marshmallows (floating on top of a cup of hot cocoa). From there, the dish evolved in a different direction. Where…you can see for yourself. I paired this dish with two different beers: Dos Equis Amber and New Castle. I must say I thought the chocolaty ness of the New Castle would compliment the mole, but all 3 tasters preferred the Dos Equis.

(left to right) Roasted Beet, Caramelized Fennel-Candied Orange Zest, Chevre, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Gastric

I served this dish as a second course at a wine dinner. The idea was to deconstruct a beet salad. I felt that this simple sweet, but tart, dish was an excellent proceed to the amuse. The amuse bouche for the dinner was a Vermouth Cucumber, Red Onion Chutney, Fizzy Grape (macerated in Champagne and charged with CO2 to create a fizzy texture on the tongue), Creme Fraiche and Osetra caviar. In lieu of wine for the starter, I served a shooter of ice cold grape vodka. The vodka dried out the mouth, but was a bit sweet and very refreshing, complimenting the fizzy grape and setting the diners' palettes up for the second course.