Gourmet

[avaserfi]

So my fiancee and I celebrated our three year anniversary tonight a little early, but it was good timing. Since I have no classes and am jobless until they start I decided to whip up a good gourmet meal.

At the beginning of summer we did a small tour of Europe as a graduation present to ourselves. We ended up visiting Budapest [where I proposed], Rome and Paris. Her souvenirs were pictures and post cards...mine was a bottle of wine from each country and food paraphernalia along with some fabulous food memories and pictures.

To start the meal I made a vinaigrette using arugula as a base and nice olive oil, minced shallots, Italian parsley, dijon mustard and an extremely high quality balsamic vinegar [maybe 4% acidity] that a friend sent me as a present for graduation.

Of course there was the wine I bought in Paris...Superb.

To follow up I decided to cook one of my favorite proteins, duck breast, with Camargue rice[the recipe and rice a gift from my chef sister]. The duck breast was French inspired as well using the wine I purchased as a sauce and being marinaded with Herbs de Provence I purchased in France as well. [My sister also developed the duck recipe which will be published in her first cook book, Seared to Perfection, next year...I just happen to be lucky enough to be a recipe tester for it ].

Of course a meal could not be French inspired without a cheese plate. Brie and Gruyere along with paper thin crackers.

Continued below...

 

[avaserfi]

Lastly, a dessert is required for such a meal. Being inspired by the best pastry shop I have been to in my life Pierre Herme and his emotion line desserts. Thusly, I used the cups that the emotion desserts came in as a plating method. The bottom layer is a watermelon-lime sorbet the middle is a watermelon-lime foam and the top is a whip cream that uses fresh cream and Tahitian vanilla all garnished with a candied grapefruit. If you look closely you will see 4 layers in the cup - this is because I had the top and bottom layer melt slightly so they could fuse together and create a more smooth transition. All in all this was one of the best meals in my life and it certainly felt like we were back in Paris all over again.

 

[Rickster71]

Wow Andrew, if that meal tastes as good as it looks, you've got something there!
I'm hungry all over again.
Rick

 

[Nomo]

Damn, That looks good.

The future Mrs avaserfi is a lucky girl.

Setting aside the fact that I'm offended by the fact you didn't invite me; Congrats on the anniversary.

Oh Christ, I might as well be talking to myself. You're no doubt busy at the moment.

 

[jostenmeat]

avaserfi.... Will You Marry Me?

jk, but seriously, with the fish sandwich thread, and post your recipe thread, and now THIS, Im always hungry when I visit this site. SHEESH.

Im about to leave to go to a ball game... and have a couple of hot dogs.

Looks awesome. Bon appetit.

 

[Rickster71]

avaserfi.... Will You Marry Me?

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

 

[TLS Guy]

Great presentation Andrew! It looks mouth watering.

My wife and I had a wonderful weekend at the lake here last weekend. We both love to cook. The weather was perfect and we cooked up a storm three nights in a row. We had all our meals on the upper balcony. We have two genuine Parisian Bistro tables on that level. The best part no mosquitoes!

If you ever come up this way, I will let you loose with my outside kitchen. It is great for spit roasted meats, Indian cuisine and Cajan. You can make all the smells and smoke you want.

It is just great to see people with a range of interests. You will never be bored my friend.

 

[Adam]

Very nicely done, Andrew! Equally well presented and photographed. Looks excellent.

I tell ya, when you do something, you do it right!

 

[TLS Guy]

Very nicely done, Andrew! Equally well presented and photographed. Looks excellent.

I tell ya, when you do something, you do it right!

As he plans on joining the order he'd better do things right.

 

[avaserfi]

Thanks to everyone . The meal was fantastic, but looking at these pictures is making me hungry again. Good thing there are left overs with the rice and the salad .

I can't help it, audio and food are my hobbies and I just strive for perfection in what I enjoy. It makes me happier that way [I guess I am weird, but hey I am happy].

By the way if anyone is interested I can share all the recipes except the duck breast since I didn't write it and don't have permission to share it publicly.

Saddest part of tonight is my bottle of wine is gone...it certainly brought back good memories of the trip. I need to go back who wants to fund the trip? HAH!

 

[mtrycrafts]

With this kind of talent, you don't have a job?

 

[Midcow2]

very, very nice

Avaserfi,

Very nice meal and congratulations on your 3rd aniversary. Have you thought about being a chef on the side ?

Thanks for sharing,

MidCow2


P.S. - I like to cook also

P.S.S. - If Godilocks ever visits your house you will put the three bears out of business.

P.S.S.S -- Heads-up Audioholics Cook-Off! you and ItsChris

 

[avaserfi]

With this kind of talent, you don't have a job?

Don't want one . Right now I can't really get hired to do things I want and once classes start I get paid to learn so I figured I would be a bum for a couple of weeks and build speakers and food .

Avaserfi,

Very nice meal and congratulations on your 3rd aniversary. Have you thought about being a chef on the side ?

Thanks for sharing,

MidCow2


P.S. - I like to cook also

P.S.S. - If Godilocks ever visits your house you will put the three bears out of business.

P.S.S.S -- Heads-up Audioholics Cook-Off! you and ItsChris

My sister has been trying to convince me to get a little more trained and work with her in the food industry, but I don't think I could see myself cooking for a living. I love to cook and would be interested in being trained, but simply for personal reasons.

As far as a AH cook off goes that sounds like a blast. In my undergrad days I got about 15 friends together and we did a college themed iron chef with Ramen as the main ingredient. There was some pretty interesting stuff cooked that day people just didn't expect 7 original dishes along with two more desserts from my team of ringers . After that they just had me judge rather than cook though .

 

[bandphan]

Congrats on the 3 years together...

scott

 

[rnatalli]

Nothing like a well-made, home-cooked meal.

 

[Tomorrow]

Andrew....come on out here for our Great Northwest Beaver BBQ and Duck Fry. There might even be some wild fun with Aerial, Salk, perhaps some Revel Salon speakers with which to run a blind comparo! Target date is 2009/10...way off, but being discussed.

I'm usually too busy snarfin' it down to pimp my food. And this afternoon's lunch is far from gourmet, but nonetheless it is.........

Tomorrow's piping-hot, homemade Northwoods Chicken-Kluski Soup with baked parmesan crackers and Tillamook pepperjack cheese. Served with some mellow vinyl, this meal cures the common cold and has been known to have a dramatic, positive effect on cancer survival!

 

[avaserfi]

My sister actually lives right between Washington state and Oregan about half an hour out of Portland. Maybe, just maybe, it might work out...depends if she is still living there when this GTG occurs since she is considering moving away...

It sure would be good eats going up there . Ohh yeah, and there would be some good listening too .

 

[TLS Guy]

Andrew....come on out here for our Great Northwest Beaver BBQ and Duck Fry. There might even be some wild fun with Aerial, Salk, perhaps some Revel Salon speakers with which to run a blind comparo! Target date is 2009/10...way off, but being discussed.

I'm usually too busy snarfin' it down to pimp my food. And this afternoon's lunch is far from gourmet, but nonetheless it is.........

Tomorrow's piping-hot, homemade Northwoods Chicken-Kluski Soup with baked parmesan crackers and Tillamook pepperjack cheese. Served with some mellow vinyl, this meal cures the common cold and has been known to have a dramatic, positive effect on cancer survival!

My youngest daughter and son in law lived in Portland for a while. It is lovely country out there.

 

[Tomorrow]

Those AH peeps down in Florida can have their lovely beaches and tanned babes (and dudes if you're so inclined ), but here in the NW we don't have to put up with hurricanes, horribly hot and humid conditions, gators, or chicken-sized palmetto bugs. We have to make do with verdant forests, thousands of rivers (and the concommitant salmon/steelhead) and storm-washed beaches. And of course our GTG's are a little more lightly attended, too.
If this NW thing pans out, you're all invited to a taste of the great northwest at Tomorrow's house...probably cedar plank fired fresh salmon. Wait...make that AverageJoe's house! It has already been voted that Andrew will have some cooking duties if he attends.

 

[avaserfi]

Hmm, if you are having me cook in that environment I would have to go early and go mushrooming and then pick up some of the great seafood about...

One of the main reasons I visit my sister is to go mushrooming and eat seafood . Some of the most simple, but best meals ever lobster mushrooms, fresh pasta and seared scallops. Plus there is Apizza Scholls in Portland which is hands down the best pizza in the world along with a great Caesar.