Delish Summer Dishes...

grilled local albacore, black plum-crab-opal basil salad, preserved ginger

sriracha aioli, bergamot vinaigrette, melon-cucumber "boisson"

seared scallops, sweet corn agnolotti, australian truffles, corn coulis
pea vines, truffle oil and poultry jus

steamed atlantic fluke & foie gras, romaine, fava bean tapenade
heirloom tomato salad, carrot composure, honshimejii, garlic potatoes

~ bouche revigorant~
spanish melons, peach tartare, grains of paradise, lemon yogurt, nasturtium

dukkah crusted oregon lamb tenderloin
parsnip puree, sous vide fennel, king trumpet mushroom, mosto cotto oil
black peppercorn essence

cinnamon shake, peanut butter "cremeaux", chocolate-hazelnut slice
olive oil gelato, dove bar, muscovado-fig tart, strawberry-basil sorbet
~~~

just a few shots of taste and texture to tempt your palate. A series of ingredients in succession of one another. Some turned out great...some ended up ok...either way, we had fun and we were exploring our passions.

Taste of Summer...

cherry smoked king salmon, fresh bay ice cream, ikura, blis maple, purslane,

crisp potato

~

first snax- assorted house salumi, olives, flatbreads

second snax- louisiana sweet shrimp spoon, summer melon, daikon, lemon verbena

pickled ginger

amuse-maine lobster, mango, avocado, sturgeon caviar, champagne-lemon sabayon

(missing in action)

nasturtium-potato "nage", seared scallop, nasturtium petals, dauro olive oil

fr0zen sriracha aioli, celery root remoulade, charred baby octopus,
smoked paprika oil

chilled foie gras "cremeaux", santa rosa plum, cacao nibs, toasted brioche,

mosto cotto

seared foie gras, pickled rainier cherries, fried grated marcona almonds
caramelized apricots, black pepper-px apricot caramel, micro chard

citrus brined, smoke-roasted catfish, polenta-tasso cake, peas, pea vines
anise hyssop emulsion, achiote oil

compressed wild strawberries, cucumber sorbet, grains of paradise, yogurt essence

guinea fowl roulade with lobster, truffles, porcini "farce"
roasted cepes, sage pudding, walnuts, golden raising jus, argan oil

loin of oregon lamb sous vide, morel-foie gras ragout, fava bean
garlic scape pancake, carrot oil, black currant sauce

fresh burrata, fig tartare, riesling caramel, fleur de sel
chevre ice cream, roasted figs, spicy fig jus

faberge egg, chocolate cake pop, dove bar, silk slice, caramel-chocolate brittle
muscovado creme "legere", marshmallows, espresso sauce

summer fruits, berries, rhubarb gelee, raspberry-fennel tart,
fennel short dough, lemon balm cooked israeli cous cous "pudding",

lemon swipe, strawberry-basil sorbet, cherry sorbet, rose geranium ice cream
~~~

on a previous post, i received a comment posing a question..."don't you ever get tired of cooking the same food"? I was trying to wrap my brain around the angle of where was this guy coming from? Sure...are there foodstuffs that we bring in that we enjoy toying with regularly, or styles and flavors I lean towards...yes! And each year, as the season changes, do we bring back those combinations that I love and savor...absolutely...That is who I am and the style in which I cook...I try to maintain an identity. Yet, within those confines, I look to break out by means of trying new combinations, ingredients, techniques and dishes and menus as a whole. I think if you look through the pages and the years, you will see that clearly. I did notice however as I was reading his comment and wondering if had I become complacent without knowing it...that the photos on the post I was reading was the same pictures I had posted about a week ago...I know, how I could not recall what I posted a week ago, but there was another photo on the top of the post and it was quite late and in haste of getting my post done(I need to find a nitch in time whenever I can)...I posted the same photos. So, I deleted the post and am starting fresh...I believe that this is most likely what that person was referring to, but if not, then hopefully, this new post capturing most of the 16~course degustation will serve as a little peak into something different...if not, then oh well....enjoy..

Happy So Sad..

it continues to amaze me at how emotions can play such a huge role in life, in our pursuit of fulfillment, and in my cooking! I have wrote many times over on how it affects the food and cooking in the sense that the emotions of oneself on a daily basis controls how he or she will proceed with a dish, the meal period, the banquet event or the moment. Happiness sends us in one direction while sadness and sorrow pushes us into another, and yet anger is another beast altogether. Watch out for him! While watching in awe and listening to a local hometown hero perform at Benaroya Hall; Eddie Vedder on his ukulele tour did nothing short of kick ass and amaze! In-so-doing, he struck a few nerves in me...~utter happiness...pain...love...sorrow...excitement...passion...
death...sadness...hurt...adrenaline and aggression as well as deep emptiness. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of it. All of it. I am at times a sucker for pain. It brought a huge sense of the moment in me and where I am at in many areas of life. That is a different story and much deeper in thought and dialogue than I care to venture into at the moment, but just think deep. Between death, love, loss, hurt and happiness...the levels of emotion run wild. All of this has a profound affect on my cooking...I personally do not think bad or less than inspiring, just different. There are times when I truly should not be cooking as my state of mind just fucking sucks. I cant think, get inspired or even stay focused...thank god that has not been the case lately. The music Vedder ripped out over the amazing three hours was in a word.. incredible! There were so many songs that touched my soul...some for the better...some not. This tour was definitely full of songs that conjured up feelings of love lost in many different ways. And yet through all of this, it was a wonderful night of happiness amongst the sorrow. Happy, yet so sad. What I took away, and that I hope you will as well, is a clearer understanding of life and emotion and how to channel it. How to cope and how to enjoy life as it is dealt to us in whatever way God feels appropriate. Let the emotion funnel through your veins, through your fingertips and out onto the plate in your own cooking...let yourself speak to your guests through your food...be honest...be real...be you, whether happy or sad. Just breathe...

Of Another Inspiration...

The shots of the dishes that are presented before you come from yet another realm of inspiration and influence...it comes from another love and passion that I hold dear...it is that of music. Loud, obnoxious and crazy music mind you! And although I do not play(why...I don't know), I get totally immersed in the heavy metal drive that fuels me so often. Those that know me, know I am a metal head. From Metallica to Nirvana...from Godsmack to Soundgarden...from Pearl Jam to Motley Crue to Guns n Roses...the sounds of the thrash and the crash give spark to the plate. This chefs table was inspired not by the music that I had heard, yet the sounds and the thoughts of the dishes being developed and served! It didn't disappoint...

ahi tuna, louisiana shrimp, heart of palm, sriracha aioli, summer melon
pea coulis, pea blossoms
seared foie gras, brioche, rhubarb puree, pickled rainier cherries
honey bunches of oats, mosto cotto-hazelnut dressing

roasted grapes, thyme, late harvest riesling caramel, salted cashews,
fresh burrata

seared mediterranean branzino, baby octopus, chorizo, marcona almonds
green olives, olive oil, fava bean tapenade, pea vines

lamb loin sous vide, cepes, parsnip puree, chard, caramelized garlic
morel custrd, peas, sauce aromatic