FOOD SERVICE WIN #2!!!

Aka Family and Friends Pop-up Dinner #2.

This time around we got to have some input into the menu. We drew for our assignments and I was thrilled to draw dessert. We then voted on what kind of cuisine we wanted to combine with our classical French training. The winner was California.

One of the other students on Team Dessert came up with the idea of an orange creme brulee, then we thought it would be awesome to use fresh lavender in the brulee sugar. We ran it by Chef, who thought it was too many competing flavors in one dish. What she did do is suggest we go the traditional route of serving madeleine cookies along with the brulees and incorporating the lavender into that. I was especially excited about make creme brulees because it's one of my Mom's favorites, but unfortunately she wasn't able to make it. I'd been trying to set up getting her over here for this since the February pop-up, but there was a mixup in communications and a few other issues, but other than that everything went well.

Thursday we tried a trio of madeleine recipes, finding one that was far and away the best, then made our cookies. We then turned to calculating out brulee recipe for 50 guests. It turned out we had the exact amount, which we were thrilled about. You can make creme brulees ahead of time, but they have to be sealed up tight and refrigerated, then torched at time of serving. We also made lavender sugared candied orange peels for the garnish. In addition, Chef has lavender plants at home and brought a truckload of them for us.

Menu

Belini Three Ways - Buckwheat Trout, Blue Corn Crab, 

Classic Belini with Lobster

Domaine du Tariquet, Classic Cotes de Gasgogne

Baby Arugula, Goat Cheese, Apricot and Almond Salad

Domaine due Tariquet, Classic Cotes de Gasgogne

Braised Beef with Carrot Garlic Puree and Beet Chips

Hahn Pinot Noir

Orange Flower Creme Brulee with Lavender Madeleine

Stumptown Coffee

A fraction of what we made.

Lavender sugar in progress.

Here, have a few madeleine cookies.

Braised beef, ready to go.

The table is set!

Belinis. My brother isn't a seafood eater, but he
ate these and liked them.

The most beautiful dessert in the world! It was
such a beautiful plate. It couldn't have turned
out better!

I wish we could do one of these every week.

And now reviews/finals/graduation looms.