Two long time friends, John and Jan, decided to move to California from Chicago. In their honor, our community of 12 enjoyed a farewell dinner on October 21, 2017.
Preparation
I tend to make two mistakes when having multiple coursed dinners. I would either forget to include some elements of a dish or would forget where each part of the dish was located in my small condo kitchen. On the refrigerator I put an outline of each course and a drawing of the location for the dish elements. It worked!
Here are the the different stations
Theme and Menu
When there is some type of important ending in our life, the always-present-transitory-nature of phenomena breaks through (and shatters) our daily superficial view of "things" and "people" as always enduring and continuous. Jan and John leaving for California after decades in Chicago was a reminder that everything eventually ends.
In this farewell dinner, I wanted emphasize this ephemeral nature of all phenomenon which is a central teaching in Buddhism. The theme of the dinner was "You are Smoke." The salmon course used yang smoke from fire while the sorbet course used yin smoke from dry ice.
1. PUFF, PUFF: Salmon + Smoke
The appetizer was based on a ChefStep recipe, Salmon Mi-Cuit. After dry curing the salmon with salt and sugar it was cooked sous vide at 104F for one hour. It was then reserved in the fridge for about six hours. The dish included horseradish cream, avocado puree, salmon roe, thin baguette toast, and pickled ginger slices.
Before serving, the smoking gun was used to pump apple wood chip smoke under the glass. Guests then lifted the glass to allow the smoke to escape.
I had done a practice run but this time, however, I did it for 12 people. I was concerned of having the fire alarm go off in my condo. I rushed. I did not give the smoke enough time to sit in the glass so that it could sufficiently permeate the salmon.
One of the guests, Patrick, chose the different wines for the courses.
Wine Served: Prosecco Lamarca
2. SLURP, SLURP: Carrot + Orange Soup
The soup course was the Modernist Cuisine caramalized carrot with the addition of orange juice, spices (ginger, clove, cinnamon, sriracha) topped with coconut cream and cilantro.
Wine Served: Prosecco Lamarca
3. MACRO, MICRO: Salad greens + Ice Cream
The salad was based on ChefSteps Savory Ice Cream Salad. Over a bed of olive dirt (dehydrated olives), the savory ice cream was added along with arugula and micro-greens. Lemon air foam was included. The whole thing was laced with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The very salty and crunchy olives paired very well with the soft, sweet and savory ice cream. The wine chosen went very well with this dish, clearing the salty and sweet taste with its brightness.
Wine: Trimbach Gewürztraminer 
4. MOO, MOO: NY Strip Steak + Spinach
This is another superb ChefStep recipe, Coffee Butter Steak and Spinach. A pre-sear was applied and then cooked sous-vide at 129F for about one hour. To get a great crispy sear after the sous vide, the steak was deep fried for 30 seconds at 390F. The butter+coffee flavor with the steak and spinach gave an earthy grounded flavor. Pickled beets were added to bring in a high note and brighten the dish. This course was one of the favorite of the evening.
Wine: For the wine we had each guest sample two reds.Interestingly, the low tannin wine (Rosso dei Notri) was chosen by all the female guests except for one. The high tannin wine (Il Bruciato) was chosen by all the male guests.This proves that there are 2.08
genders.
5. SORBET, SORBETTO: Lemon + Ginger + Aromatics
This sorbet was inspired by the UK vegetarian chef Eddie Shepherd. The sorbet was served in a 2 oz clear espresso cup with a thin wafer of orange glass and topped with cilantro. This was placed in a bowl with orange slices. Dry ice was then added. At the table a citrus infused water was then poured over the dry ice to create smoke. This was a beautiful presentation and a very refreshing dish after the steak.
While we were enjoying the sorbet something unusual happened. We heard a loud whirring sound. We could not figure out where it was coming from. Someone asked if I had ever heard that sound before in the condo. I said no. We went from room to room in search of the source. Then someone said "It's coming frome the plate". It was the dry ice. The ice was agitating against the plate, rapidly moving back and forth, creating a whirring sound. And then the plate made a loud pop and cracked! That was the unexpected fun event for this dinner. And there is always something unexpected in these multiple course dinners!
6. PATTY CAKE, BABY CAKE: Bananas Foster Cakes
For dessert we had Banana Baby Foster Cakes which were baked by our friend Jackie. I forgot to take a photo of the full dessert. But here are the before and after photos of the coffee table.
At the end there was one remaining baby cake.
We served tea, cappucino, mocha, and port.
The recipe that I like for cappucino is from James Hoffmann. In a 5 oz cup use 15-17g of espresso, 80-90g of steamed milk at 122-131F (I prefer 145F), and then top with micro-foam. I used this cappuccino recipe to make a caramel mocha. To the espresso add caramel to taste, add vanilla to taste, add steamed milk, then finish with whipped cream and lace with more caramel on top.
7. The Day After
Next morning, after washing all the dishes and putting the condo back in order, I had that last baby foster cake with a cappuccino.
Job well done, Sebastian!
