Opus One 2008

 
gaspacho-verde
squid-and-sea-urchin-lemon-pasta
duck-egg-carbonara
slow-cooked-lamb-shank
avocado-mousse

Who says you need to go to a fancy restaurant in a big city to have a memorable wine experience?  I had a great time and experience last night. I would say it was the best so far in my life. Guess what? I had a Opus One, which is the most expensive California wine. Didn't expect this happens, but my friend really liked my food and he opened for everybody.

I had a wonderful dinner with my friends who really love wines. They wanted me to cook for them and invited me for dinner. Yes, that was like a private chief.

First of all, their kitchen looks AMAZING! I was in my dream of ideal kitchen I wish I could have one day while cooking, so did my best for the course. All ingredients are homemade and from local. It was unforgettable night. Definitely, I will remind of the night with food and wine I had during next fight camp.

Each course went very well. They have fancy tableware, so I was very excited for topping and enjoyed serving food on those. I made Green Gaspacho again because this is one of my best dishes during summer.  They requested me for nice and heavy for their wine, so appetizer was prepared for light start.

Each of pasta is my best for both red and white. I think Squid and sea urchin lemon herb pasta is the best for Pinot Grigio. However, Pinot Grigio I had was red a little bit. It was a bottle of white wine, but my friend explain about its difference in the process of making wine. Sorry I don't remember because it was too busy for cooking. lol

For carbonara, I used duck egg. It was amazingly strong egg flavor and really good on Barolowine. Of course, my homemade guanciale did a great job!

 

Hey, tek! Ossobucco again?

Opus One with Lamb Shank

Come on! I am not a professional chef, so don't expect that I cook different dish all the time. However, this local lamb from Maine was cooked in French broth. Yes, other lamb shanks in Tatekitchen are cooked in Italian broth. I made broth from OX tail this time. Its broth has strong flavor, like a Fond de Veau. After slow cook shanks, I made demigrace sauce with caramelized shallot and grass fed butter.  All vegetables for a garnish were slow cooked in oil from guanciale.

 

Mixed with fun and flavor this experience might want to be taken home because I don't have to worry about how drunk I am, waiters and other customers at restaurant. Oops!! most importantly, how much I spend for that night. 

 

For dessert, I made a guilty free avocado mousse. This was made of raw honey, so processed sugar is not used. Lime juice is a key to balance for sweetness. As you can see, the volume of the dinner is big, so I made it light for dessert.

 

I hope my scrumptious meals that satisfy their gastronomic cravings went well. Good food, drink, friends and family....what else do we want more?