Potential Gold

Catering to the Stars

A few weeks ago Limor and I catered a small dinner party for eleven guests.

This time I brought along two really great helpers to serve the three course dinner and pass around appetizers as the guests arrived.

A double magnum was opened that night and the spirit was high.

The first course was a Lobster Salad with a Mango & Citrus Vinaigrette.

The second course was either Moroccan Style Salmon "Chraime" OR Frenched Rack of Lamb with Shallot Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus.

Dessert was a Fresh Fruit Plate with Petit Fours.

Pahlmeyer 2002

Not a bad bottle of wine.  This photo was taken at a friends house.

Providence

It was finally time to enjoy a nice meal in my hometown, Los Angeles.  A great excuse to splurge on a fantastic meal, and take Limor out for a night on the town, Providence was a great choice.

Providence came very highly recommended by many chef friends as well as some well known professional 'eaters'.

We started our night by taking some photos.  Our back-waiter was very joyful and enjoyed having fun with us.  So much so that he actually became our front-waiter for the night.  I think the original server didn't feel up to having fun that night (he looked way to serious in the funny costumes they wear!).

We ordered the five course tasting menu which I was warned takes about three hours to enjoy (it did).  I opted for the wine pairing. 

From the kitchen we first received a great plate of fresh butter and salt to go along with a great piece of bread (unfortunately, it was the only bread they gave us all night, except for some brioche as part of a dish).

Next out as teases was a "Gin & Tonic" in gelatinous cubes and a "Mojito" in spherical form.

Caviar & New Years 2007

To celebrate the new year and to bring it in with a nice kick, my friends T & E invited me for a bit of caviar.

A few days before, PB and M were over at T & E's and really had the gourmet tasting.

A trial was set up with three different producers of caviar.  One was from California, one from Germany and one from Italy.  Because I was not in attendance, I heard that the Italian caviar won top scores from the three producers.

I was able to 'taste' the Californian product which was great.

Some Wonder Bread toasts, Bellwether Farms Creme Fraiche and Grey Goose vodka accompanied the Sterling caviar produced by Stolt Sea Farm in Elverta, California.

Not too shabby and a great way to start 2007!

Thanks for reading!

I Won, I Won!

I never win anything...ever...but I guess when the cause is a positive one then luck is on my side.  Pim and a great group of bloggers have done it again. 

This year we raised over sixty-thousand dollars to help the UN World Food Programme.  People from all over donated gifts and prizes to those who donated.   I tried to give a salami but I didn't make the deadline.  There's always next year to give back.

So, I won a dinner for two at Manresa in Los Gatos care of Pim's Blog and the staff at Manresa (I think!).

Thanks!!

Inside La Mortadella

The Mortadella in transit.

Inside view.

Inside view.

La Mortadella

Some R&D work led to these amazing hanging Mortadella.

(prior to the oven)

Thanks to our neighbors for letting us use their oven!

(almost ready to eat!)

The Cannard Farm

Fennel

Identita Golose

The 2006 Identita Golose has been summed up in English translation by Alberto of IlForno.  Use the link to find his writings.  In my opinion, Identita Golose is one of the most important food forums happening in the world and this second forum (the first was last year) hosted some of the best chefs of the world including Wylie Dufresne from NYC's WD-50 and Pierangellini of Gambero Rosso on the Tuscan shore.

Boule - Not What I Expected

I was a bit dissapointed at the following:

I (Alibi PDC) catered a party a few weeks ago and the hosts mentioned not to hold back in any circumstances...so I didn't.  I tried for the best of the best and it was all flawless until the cake from the famed Bakery in Los Angeles, Boule, went under the knife.

Please don't get me wrong, I think that Boule is an amazing store and the proprietors are really helping LA and its food scene - but a bit more love should go into the products they offer.

I special-ordered my Boule cake a week before I needed it and on Friday afternoon when I went to pick the cake up, it was still not ready and we had to wait at least 15 minutes for them to get the cake to us.  For $58.00 and a weeks notice I would expect a bit more.

I asked if pre-slicing was available and it wasn't so I knew the task would get tricky but not as tricky as it really was.

The Boule cake was delicious, again, don't get me wrong; it just looked like poop.  All the cutting tricks I had up my sleeve weren't tough enough for this super moussey cake that died and deflated as soon as the knife punctured the surface.

I guess there isn't much to say about it, just that I was dissapointed and that I hope it doesn't happen to many others out there.

Yes, I kept it in the fridge.  Yes, I used the sharp knife with hot water.  Yes, I made sure my blade was clean every new slice I went in for.  Yes, what you see is really what I served (unfortunately).  Yes, it really cost $58.00

Yes, they ate it all!