May Menu from Beast

Reporting back from Dara's and my fancy 12th anniversary dinner at Beast in Portland, here was the menu on Saturday, May 14, and an account of the moments of inspiration we experienced.

One major "a-ha" area was the wine pairings...mostly white, and all beautiful, aromatic and perfectly springlike. They were so food-friendly, it was almost as if each dish were created for its wine.

• New Potato & Leek Soup with Chive Blossoms and Chive Oil. (Birgit Eichinger Hasel Gruner Veltliner 2008, Kampal, Austria.) A fairly simple soup, this reminded me to use our garden's own pink-purple chive blossoms as a lightly spicy and herbaceous garnish not only for soups, but also for salads, fish, potatoes and other savory dishes. I wish this soup had been served in a more elegant fashion -- rather than swishing messily as it landed in front of me -- so that was a reminder to myself to prepare individual portions of cold summer soups by arranging the solid ingredients in shallow soup bowls, and then pouring the liquid tableside from a pretty teapot or pitcher. 
• Charcuterie Plate: Foie-Gras Bon-Bon with Sauternes Gelee; Chicken Liver Mousse on a homemade cracker; Steak Tartare & Quail Egg Toast; Olympic Provisions Salami; Pork Pate with Fennel, Chili Flake & Coriander. (Weingut Salomon Riesling Kogl Trocken 2008, Kamptal, Austria.) This was lots of fun. I love a good progression of rich flavors, and loved ending with the super super smooth, creamy bon-bon. And I love eating courses that would take me two or three days to make at home!
• Kookolan Farm's Chicken, Maple-Glazed Easter Egg Radish, Goat Butter & Demi-Glace. (Henry Fessy Moulin-a-Vent 2009, Beaujolais.) The chicken thighs were braised in duck fat and covered in the demi-glace, so they were crispy and of course highly flavorful. I loved the sweet earthiness and crunch of the roasted radishes underneath, along with their greens, and the finishing pat of earthy goat butter swirled into the sauce was perfect with the wine. This course was a good reminder that roasted radishes are a summery, garden-fresh alternative to heavier roasted root vegetables -- particularly when you're serving a heavy, rich protein.
• Little Gem Lettuces with Creamy Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette, Smoked Sturgeon, Spring Herbs & Crispy Proscuitto. (Giles Buisson St. Romain Blanc Sous-la-Velle 2006, Burgundy.) These gentle, tender little lettuces got such a punch from all the layers of strong flavor here -- concentrated doses of lemon, fish, herbs and pig. Like the chicken course, this was an instance in which the wine picked up on all the elements and rounded out so well on the tongue. The inspiration for Dara and me: We want to make more flavorful summer dinner salads of local vegetables punched up with herbs, meats, cheeses and pantry ingredients -- layering those flavors of salty, sweet, bitter, sour and unami in creative ways. 
• Selection of Cheese; Anise & Fleur de Sel Shortbread; Bittersweet Farms Honey; Poached Apricot & Candied Hazelnuts. (C. Schleret Pinot Gris Herrenweg 2005; Alsace.) I didn't take notes on the cheeses, but this was another fun progression course, and I liked that the accompaniments were decidedly feminine. Overall, in fact, this menu demonstrated a delicate and playful quality that made it clear a woman was behind the counter...you know how sometimes, somehow, you can just tell? Although it contained a sweet shortbread, this course reminded me of some recipes I have for savory shortbread, and how fun it is to serve with cheese or charcuterie. I forsee that showing up at one of our summer get-togethers.
• Strawberry Cream Layer Cake with White Chocolate Ganache & Fresh Mint Ice Cream. (Domaine Bottex Bugey de Cerdon "La Cuielle" NV, Savoie.) Maybe it was because I have pastry experience, but this course was disappointing...just messy and amatuer. The strawberry jam filling was nice -- I'm guessing local berries from last year -- and the fresh mint ice cream was creamy and refreshing rather than cloying, but basically this was just a layered white sheet cake cut into squares and plopped on a plate with ice cream on the side. It would have been so much nicer to bake individual cakes, or cut circles in the sheet cake, or decontruct the dessert to lend it some elegance. As it was, it seemed to convey the chefs were tired, ready to be done with their last seating of the night, and not very comfortable with dessert. I did love the sparkling rose wine, though -- that ended the night on a sweet note.

Bieler Pere et Fils 2010

It's been a warm, summer-like day here in Seattle, and baby Calvin is down for the night, and I'm enjoying the best rose (with an accent on the "e," which I can't remember how to do), which is noted in the title above. Go buy it! Now! It's awesome! Though I may be biased as I haven't drunk a whole lot of wine late.y I mean lately. (Hiccup.)

So, baby Calvin Kian Sahebjami was born on February 9. He was 7 pounds and 20 inches of pure smiley joy. We've been getting to know each other, and he just turned 3 (months). My life has consisted mostly of breastfeeding every three hours, though nights have gotten better. For example, tonight he went down at 10:00 or so, and likely won't wake up until 4:00 or 5:00. Believe it or not, that is considered great! I could go on and on about the topics of breastfeeding and sleep, but I will resist for the purpose of this blog and confine those comments to my mommy listservs.

Dara has been a champ at making dinner and keeping me nourished. I haven't eaten necessarily seasonally; rather, I've been trying to eat a high-protein, low-saturated fat diet to lose my pregnancy pounds and trim down down for summer. Tonight, for example, we had grilled wild salmon, accompanied by zucchini, yellow summer squash, red bell pepper and fresh oregano sauteed in olive oil. Last night, we ate grilled chicken and a spinach salad. And on Sunday morning, we shared Mother's Day brunch with neighbors: omelets, fresh fruit and whole wheat sourdough toast.

So you see, there's nothing much to brag about, culinarily speaking, but this weekend we're going to reward ourselves by eating at Beast, the Portland restaurant whose young female chef is kicking a*# on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters." We are so excited to have a Saturday night date (it's also our 12th wedding anniversary) and to have Gramps and Nana take care of Cal.

I'm hoping this dinner will serve as a source of inspiration, and after that, I'll expect to go to neighborhood farmers markets and come up with new things to make and share with you. Little Cal's food source is limited, but that doesn't mean ours has to be. So, stay tuned, lovelies -- Seasonal Seattle is back.