Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2004
- Messages
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I'm doing a nice dinner for Judy and I plus two couples tonight. Below is the meal synopsis and the menu. I'll try and shoot photos if I can.
Dinner with Friends - This meal is an international fusion. Ingredients from all over the USA and the World came together to make this special meal. Special friends make it even better.
The evening starts with Moet & Chandon White Star Champagne, from France. Mammoth size Gulf Shrimp Cocktails and a fresh greens Salad with Cilantro-lime Dressing whet the appetite for the main course.
In Kobe, Japan, some of the finest beef on the planet is raised. Kobe beef (神戸ビーフ) is renowned for its high marbling and delicate texture. These Wagyu cows are pampered and fed a diet of prepared grains and Guinness beer … lucky cows. In some barns there are people playing soft music and massaging the cows to keep them happy and stress free. No antibiotics or other supplements are given to the cows. Their barns are cleaner than most high class hotels. The immaculate care, low stress life and high quality feed make Kobe the best beef in the world. In the early 1980’s Snake River Farms, in Idaho, bred the finest Angus beef in the country. Their breeding steers brought $250,000 and up. They purchased three Kobe’ cows from the top breeder in Japan for a price over $1,000,000. They bred them with their top Angus bulls and produced American Wagyu beef. They have been the top grade supplier to high end chefs ever since. They raise their beef on several 100,000 acres of high country pastures. Wagyu beef stated at Snake River Farms. The Wagyu fillets are prepared sous vide – vacuum packed and cooked in a 130° water bath for several hours. This allows cooking all the way through and never going one degree beyond a perfect medium rare. No juices or flavor drips away, either. The fillets are seared under a high heat flame to caramelize the exterior and served immediately. Accompanying the beef is a mushroom medley I call my Seven Mushroom Bourbon Whiskey Sauce. It is slow simmered for over an hour and contains wild Japanese mushrooms and shitake mushrooms. The herbs for the sauce are picked fresh from my gardens the day of preparation. In today’s sauce I used Widow Jane whiskey, made in, of all places, - Brooklyn, NY! It starts with some of the best 6 year old barrels of whiskey and rye from around the country. These are expertly married and cut with pure NY limestone water, barreled, and aged for 10 years in five barrel batches. Each bottle is hand numbered with batch and date. We don’t know if it stores well because there have never been any leftover.
The Lobster Mac-n-Cheese starts in the cold waters off the coast of Maine. Fresh caught lobster is flash steamed, picked, frozen at -100°F and shipped packed on dry ice. The sauce is a blend of eight international cheeses – Gruyere, Sharp White Cheddar, Sharp American cheddar, Asiago, Romano, Parmigiano, Manchego, and Queso Asadero. The cheeses are melted in a cream sauce and thickened slowly, the pasta and lobster are folded into the sauce, topped with panko and truffles, and then baked to velvety perfection. The Stir-fry Vegetables are a blend of broccoli florets, water chestnuts, carrots, red bell peppers, shitake mushrooms, green beans, and sugar peas. After blanching, they are stir-fried with a Japanese citrus-ginger-plum sauce.
The Cheesecake Aileen dessert comes from the tropical beaches of Ocean View, where pastry chef Aileen Coggeshall has a private restaurant that only seats four patrons. She prepares one of the finest cheesecakes you ever had.
The meal is served casually, not rushed, and augmented with good conversation. The addition of fine wine and other beverages only makes it nicer. Thanks for joining us.
Aperitif -
Moet & Chardon Imperial Champagne
(Assorted wines served with the meal)
Appetizer -
Mammoth Gulf Shrimp Cocktails
Salad -
Fresh salad greens and veggies with lime cilantro
vinaigrette
Entrée - Available only to special friends
Wagyu Beef from Snake River Farms
Served with Mushroom-Bourbon sauce
Gourmet Lobster Mac and Cheese
Steamed Vegetables with Citrus-ginger-plum Sauce
Cabernet Sauvignon wine
Dessert -
Cheesecake Aileen
Digestif -
Desert Wines
Cognac
Single Malt Scotches
Bourbons and Whiskeys
Cigars on the deck
Dinner with Friends - This meal is an international fusion. Ingredients from all over the USA and the World came together to make this special meal. Special friends make it even better.
The evening starts with Moet & Chandon White Star Champagne, from France. Mammoth size Gulf Shrimp Cocktails and a fresh greens Salad with Cilantro-lime Dressing whet the appetite for the main course.
In Kobe, Japan, some of the finest beef on the planet is raised. Kobe beef (神戸ビーフ) is renowned for its high marbling and delicate texture. These Wagyu cows are pampered and fed a diet of prepared grains and Guinness beer … lucky cows. In some barns there are people playing soft music and massaging the cows to keep them happy and stress free. No antibiotics or other supplements are given to the cows. Their barns are cleaner than most high class hotels. The immaculate care, low stress life and high quality feed make Kobe the best beef in the world. In the early 1980’s Snake River Farms, in Idaho, bred the finest Angus beef in the country. Their breeding steers brought $250,000 and up. They purchased three Kobe’ cows from the top breeder in Japan for a price over $1,000,000. They bred them with their top Angus bulls and produced American Wagyu beef. They have been the top grade supplier to high end chefs ever since. They raise their beef on several 100,000 acres of high country pastures. Wagyu beef stated at Snake River Farms. The Wagyu fillets are prepared sous vide – vacuum packed and cooked in a 130° water bath for several hours. This allows cooking all the way through and never going one degree beyond a perfect medium rare. No juices or flavor drips away, either. The fillets are seared under a high heat flame to caramelize the exterior and served immediately. Accompanying the beef is a mushroom medley I call my Seven Mushroom Bourbon Whiskey Sauce. It is slow simmered for over an hour and contains wild Japanese mushrooms and shitake mushrooms. The herbs for the sauce are picked fresh from my gardens the day of preparation. In today’s sauce I used Widow Jane whiskey, made in, of all places, - Brooklyn, NY! It starts with some of the best 6 year old barrels of whiskey and rye from around the country. These are expertly married and cut with pure NY limestone water, barreled, and aged for 10 years in five barrel batches. Each bottle is hand numbered with batch and date. We don’t know if it stores well because there have never been any leftover.
The Lobster Mac-n-Cheese starts in the cold waters off the coast of Maine. Fresh caught lobster is flash steamed, picked, frozen at -100°F and shipped packed on dry ice. The sauce is a blend of eight international cheeses – Gruyere, Sharp White Cheddar, Sharp American cheddar, Asiago, Romano, Parmigiano, Manchego, and Queso Asadero. The cheeses are melted in a cream sauce and thickened slowly, the pasta and lobster are folded into the sauce, topped with panko and truffles, and then baked to velvety perfection. The Stir-fry Vegetables are a blend of broccoli florets, water chestnuts, carrots, red bell peppers, shitake mushrooms, green beans, and sugar peas. After blanching, they are stir-fried with a Japanese citrus-ginger-plum sauce.
The Cheesecake Aileen dessert comes from the tropical beaches of Ocean View, where pastry chef Aileen Coggeshall has a private restaurant that only seats four patrons. She prepares one of the finest cheesecakes you ever had.
The meal is served casually, not rushed, and augmented with good conversation. The addition of fine wine and other beverages only makes it nicer. Thanks for joining us.
Aperitif -
Moet & Chardon Imperial Champagne
(Assorted wines served with the meal)
Appetizer -
Mammoth Gulf Shrimp Cocktails
Salad -
Fresh salad greens and veggies with lime cilantro
vinaigrette
Entrée - Available only to special friends
Wagyu Beef from Snake River Farms
Served with Mushroom-Bourbon sauce
Gourmet Lobster Mac and Cheese
Steamed Vegetables with Citrus-ginger-plum Sauce
Cabernet Sauvignon wine
Dessert -
Cheesecake Aileen
Digestif -
Desert Wines
Cognac
Single Malt Scotches
Bourbons and Whiskeys
Cigars on the deck
