Eye Candy

This is just a snap-shot of some food pixs. It is a "digital kitchen" of foods that I enjoy and enjoy cooking. This is the start of good things to follow, whether intellectual or visual or both. Stay tuned as I create this new site.


Still Life in Young Garlic...
as we move from the harsh winter months after being inundated with the wonderful flavors and foodstuffs like kabocha and hubbard squash, salsify and crosnes, hedgehog mushrooms and of course....truffles, as culinarians, we long for the arrival of the fresh new ingredients that embrace the coming season of spring. This is one of them that I enjoy using in the very short time that they are here.



If it is one thing that I can be thankful for, it is the opportunity to surround myself with those that are great! Some of you will most definitely recognize this person with me, but for those that do not, the chef in the hat is, well, just that..."The Chef in the Hat"; Thierry Rautureau from Rover's Restaurant in Seattle. This was during a guest chef dinner that we did at the club. What a wonderful experience that was!




"The Studio"...this is where the magic takes place each day. It is here that our great team of culinarians, or cuisiniers, do what they do best. From preparing garde manger platters and curing the many types of house made charcuterie and salumi, to cutting edge fine dining and a plethora of private member events, to the production of our patisserie and desserts to our grand chef's tables and tasting menus for ala carte service, the food produced in this workshop is some of the best obtainable. We are blessed to have an environment that supports us with the tools needed to produce the very nature of our craft!


Squab & Seared Foie Gras Terrine...
This has to be one of my favorite terrine preparations. The silkiness and richness from the foie gras and the tender subtle flavor of the seared rare squab breast nestled together to form a juxtaposition of goodness is just sublime! I have prepared this terrine and similar styles over and over again and all with great response. This was for a guest chef dinner dubbed as "Friends of the Chef" and we did it with a fresh fig-shallot jam, toasted fig savory wafer and a reduction of Banyuls. The foie gras is first seared and tossed with shallots and herbs and then the squab is seared rare, cooled a minute or so, sliced and layered with the slices of foie gras, then pressed together into a terrine mold overnight. It seals together quite nicely!




Truffled Wild Mushroom "Cappuccino"...

another fav! If there ever was an indulgence of a winter soup, this is it! An unctuous libation of chanterelles, hedgehogs, and matsutakes with Armagnac, mushroom jus, truffles and truffle oil topped off with a smooth foam. Flanked by a savory chanterelle-chestnut biscotti and you have a fine making for a prelude to a wonderful degustation menu.

a tasting of local lamb...

this was a very sexy tasting that we did for a couple of dear friends of mine, the owners of crush for a birthday celebration. It was a combination of all that is good. We use a local lamb from the washington peninsula from a farm called the Ho Hum Ranch. We get the prized carcasses from about June until early October or so. I can't wait until Spring! The dish is a surreal flavor compound consisting of a savory heirloom tomato jam, creamy white grits from Anson Mills and a braised cheek, a very succulent ragout of offal(hearts, kidneys, tongue, brains and testicles) and wild mushrooms, a coffee crusted roasted loin with fingerling potatoes and leeks and a syrah "sangria".