To celebrate our 2014 annual dinner, Al and I decided to stay in and cook rather than go out (partially because it seemed like a fun idea, but mainly because we had an upcoming reservation with our new wives at Eleven Madison Park later that month). Though we were not in a restaurant, it was still an indulgent night filled with delicious food.
Caviar
We started with caviar, the original impetus for the overall meal. Zabar's was having their big annual sale, so we were able to get three types for a reasonable price: Hackleback, Sterling, and Osetra.
We enjoyed tasting the different caviar with the requisite blinis and crème fraîche. The Hackleback was good but felt like more of a filler compared to the other two. Our favorite was the Sterling, with its rich, buttery taste. The Osetra, while more complex, briny, and interesting, was a tiny bit less delicious overall.
Uni Pasta
For our next course, we stopped at Citarella and picked up impossibly cheap and fresh sea urchin. For three medium-sized urchins filled with plump tongues of roe, we paid a mere eight bucks, including the cost to shuck them. Though this specific type of urchin is not nearly as good as the west coast varieties, we still found it to be wonderfully sweet.
We prepared some simple accompaniments including lemon and scallions, and combined it all into an ocean-y, buttery sauce for fresh fettuccine.
Porterhouse
The main course was a beautifully marbled porterhouse. Al suggested we try his "steakhouse" method, which he had had some recent success with. We started by blasting the meat over high heat, then into the oven for a couple minutes. We pulled the steak out while still raw inside, carved it, and then arranged it back in the pan, dotted with butter. The pan went in the oven for a little while longer until the meat was done to a tender, juicy medium-rare.
This method yielded a rich, perfectly cooked steak. We perceived fewer juices as being lost, since the steak was raw when first cut into.
Sides:
Broccoli Rabe w/ Roasted Garlic and Anchovies
Oven-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
The broccoli rabe dish is my favorite thing Al makes. He in turn joked that my potatoes were more oven-"fried" than roasted.
Full Main Course
Dessert from Sugar & Plum
Chocolate Blackout and Coconut Cakes
Not picture: lots of Scotch...
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