Practice Makes Perfect?

With restaurant weekend quickly approaching, it seemed only appropriate to give the whole thing a quick dry run...with some minor tweaks to keep it interesting. See, Lisa won't be able to make either seating so I thought I'd try experimenting on her to see if it was only my ego that thought I could make three courses worth paying $30 for. Unfortunately, I was so stuffy I had completely lost my sense of smell, so I really had to rely on Lisa for guidance with this one.

After hearing Alyse talk of her honey-champagne vinaigrette, I figured it was a match made in heaven for salad featuring duck confit. I picked up some escarole and endive from Wegman's, tossed it in the vinaigrette, and added toasted sunflower seeds and a few dashes of dried cranberry. I simply rewarmed the duck confit in bacon fat on the stovetop and included some pear I had poached in sherry and a bit of sugar. Solid, except the bitter+bitter idea on the greens was a bit overwhelming. For restaurant weekend, I'll use butter lettuce instead of endive. The honey-champagne vinaigrette was FREAKING AWESOME. Oh, and Lisa brought a camera so we have pictures!


Next up was a pan roasted rack of lamb with homemade gnocchi, sauteed langoustines, and a truffled cream sauce. The centerpiece of this dish? Not the lamb, gnocchi, not even the langoustines....the truffled cream sauce. Which, of course, you need a sense of smell to enjoy. So I have no idea how this dish turned out (though I will say I was unsatisfied with the presentation and disappointed that I overcooked the lamb). Lisa said it was good, but she could have been lying. This dish had a lot going on, and I think the overall quality struggled. Clearly something to work on when I'm prepping 7 different dishes for a total of 6 people. Yikes.


Finally, the pineapple creme brulee. Very good thing I tried this ahead of time, because I completely failed at getting the brulee to set. I have ideas for next time that should do me a bit better, but Lisa got treated to something that was more like creme pudding than brulee. On the bright side? The browning torch is the coolest thing I have ever owned.

The general recipes have been brainstormed for the weekend, the slots have been filled, and the menu choices have been made. Check out the final ish:

Amuse bouche of Foie Gras and Grape Chutney

Course 1: Salad of Duck Confit with Sherry Poached Pear and Honey-champagne Vinaigrette or Saffron Scented Parsnip Soup with Butternut Squash Coulis

Course 2: Horseradish Crusted Rack of Lamb with baby argula, sauteed langoustines, and cherry gastrique or White Truffle Risotto with Gulf Shrimp Fondue

Course 3: Pineapple Creme Brulee or Profiteroles with Coffee Ice Cream and Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Sauce

So if you were attending, what would you order?