As I did a few times previously for Leah, I decided to celebrate my father's 70th birthday back in 2015 by cooking him (and my mother) an elaborate meal. Every time I do one of this big dinners, I learn a little more and get a little better.
My parents have dined at some really fine restaurants over the years, but at the end my dad said, "I've never had a meal like that before" - it was a pleasure and an honor to cook for the guy who gave me everything I have.
Part I - Food Prep
Lobster prep - around this time I took to the technique of dispatching the lobster by splitting its head in half with a chef's knife. More gruesome maybe, but death is instantaneous, vs the ten or so seconds it takes if you drop them alive into boiling water. Another trick is to put them (alive) in the freezer for about thirty minutes prior to use, which causes them to slow down a lot.
As always, I keep the roe and tomalley, which are both delicious and useful. In this case I mixed them with the minced, cooked lobster and ricotta cheese to make ravioli filling.
Arancini prep - minced onion and garlic, and the risotto cookery. Once cool, we formed the risotto into balls, each with a piece of cheese inside, and breaded them, only then needing a final fry.
Sweating shallots and cooking peas, which were then blended using my favorite kitchen tool to make a lovely soup.
Sautéing leeks and roasting corn for ravioli garnish.
Custard base for gelato, strained and ready to be churned in the ice cream machine.
Cheese sauce, bacon, homemade mayo, and meat prep for burgers.
Roasting bones and mixing parsley-shallot-caper salad for marrow toast dish. I also threw the mushrooms for the burger course in the same pan as the marrow so they would roast in the fat.
Final production on lobster ravioli.
Mincing chives and shucking oysters.
I couldn't find shelled pistachios so I had to do them all manually, ugh. Below you can see lightly poached cabbage leaves and foie gras prep.
Part II - Dinner
My folks shortly after they arrived. I love having this bar counter, where I can serve people straight out of the kitchen.
Caviar
American Sturgeon, Blinis, Crème Fraîche
Chilled Vodka
I really enjoyed the American sturgeon caviar I had had with Al at one of our dinners, so I served it here again with the traditional accompaniments of crème fraîche and warm blinis. My dad is a big vodka drinker, so we again went the traditional route and paired this with ice-cold vodka.
Snacks
Wellfleet Oysters - Champagne Vinegar & Chive Mignonette
Bone Marrow - Sourdough Toast, Parsley-Caper-Shallot Salad, Maldon Sea Salt
Arancini - Truffle Oil, Taleggio
Harvest Moon - Rippleton Original
A series of snacks followed the caviar, all served with dry, champagne-like cider from Harvest Moon at Critz Farms in central NY.
After the snacks we all sat down at the dinner table and moved forward with the more formal part of the meal.
Chilled English Pea Soup
Crab, Lemon, Serrano Chilies, Mint
Harvest Moon - Blissful Moon
This soup came out wonderfully - it was very light and refreshing. We paired this with another Harvest Moon cider, this time their mildly floral Blissful Moon.
Lobster, Roasted Corn, & Ricotta Ravioli
Melted Leeks, Tarragon, Brown Butter
Julius Ferdinand Kimich - Deidesheimer Leinhöhle Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2013
I've occasionally struggled with ravioli making, but they turned out very nicely here. All the components of the dish came together very nicely, and paired well with the riesling.
Stuffed Cabbage
Seared Foie Gras, Brussels Sprouts, Almonds, 22-Year Aceto Balsamico di Modena
Julius Ferdinand Kimich - Deidesheimer Leinhöhle Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2013
One of dad's favorite comfort foods while I was growing up, though we rarely actually ate it (likely because my brother and I hated it), was stuffed cabbage. I gussied it up here, wrapping the cooked cabbage around seared foie gras. I'm happy to say my dad said he loved this dish in particular.
Slider
Bacon, Shiitakes, Gruyère Fondue, Twice-Cooked Fries, Homemade Mayo
Hitachino Next - White Ale
My dad also loves a good burger, and rarely eats them at home, so I knew I wanted to cook a high-end version for him. I had the idea of using drizzled fondue rather than sliced cheese, and it was a hit. Cooking the fries twice (once low and once high) made them very crisp, but still creamy in the center. This was paired with one of my favorite Japanese beers, Hitachino Nest White Ale.
Olive Oil Gelato
Minneola Orange, Lime Curd, Pistachios, Dates, Maldon Sea Salt
Harvest Moon - Maple Moon
My unabashed ripoff of the excellent olive oil copetta at Otto here in NYC. All the little components worked very well, and I'm happy to say the homemade gelato came out great too. This last bite was served with sweet dessert cider.
Final Menu
It was quite a labor of love, but my dad has since told me that this was a truly memorable day. I was especially happy knowing that this gift was something I was uniquely qualified to give. Thanks for everything dad.
