Outside of philosophy, my primary passion and creative outlet is food preparation. My style is eclectic; this is a polite way of saying I have no formal training in any one region's style. I will take most any excuse to cook for people, but my favorite practice is throwing small-course dinner parties every 4-6 months. Below are a few of the menus I have put together and executed.

 

First Dinner 6/21/12

1 - Potato custard with Parmesan foam; 2010 Taz Pinot Gris.
2 - Watercress/baby butter lettuce salad with raw tuna, jicama, fennel, avocado, and lemon olive oil/champagne vinegar vinaigrette; 2009 Serra de Estrela Albariño.
3 - Braised beef short rib with parsnips puree, pearl onion, morels, and red wine/veal stock reduction; 2010 Altos del Plata Malbec and 2009 Portillo Cabernet Sauvignon.
4 - Fresh strawberry filled with crema of Mascarpone, goat cheese, black pepper, and toasted almond, drizzled with aged Modena balsamic reduction and Texas wildflower honey on an organic basil leaf; Warre's Otima 10 year old Tawney port.
5 - Apple weincreme chiffon custard with rhubarb-Grand Marnier compote; Bottega's Petalo Moscato dolce sparkling.

 

Second Dinner (AKA "Dessert is a season") 11/20/12

1 - Summer: Seared watermelon with aged balsamic glaze, beef carpaccio seasoned with fennel pollen, arugula and herb salad dressed with lemon olive oil, bee pollen and edible flowers.
2 - Spring: Cannelloni fresca, seared sea scallop, violet gastrique, kohlrabi microgreens.
3 - Winter: Confit of goose with warm spices, roasted wild forest mushrooms, Calvados-glazed roasted apples, cranberry caviar.
4 - Fall: Italian cheese assortment with pomegranate seeds, figs, pears, Marcona almonds, and spicy curried pumpkin seeds.
5 - Dessert: Duo of miniature baked Alaska. Chocolate cake, coconut-coffee ice cream, allspice meringue; orange pound cake, beet ice cream, walnut meringue.

 

Third Dinner (For my Vegan/Gluten-Free Friends) 3/9/13

1 - Seared watermelon and cucumber espuma with balsamic vinegar reduction.
2 - Moroccan spiced tofu and rainbow chard stems, served with golden raisins, preserved lemons, green onions, red pepper flakes, and olive mix.
3 - Roasted zucchini hollows filled with eggplant mousse on a bed of red quinoa with pesto.
4 - Roasted assorted mushrooms with red mole sauce, powdered avocado, and powdered cinnamon-infused macadamia nut oil.
5 - Deconstructed banana split: avocado fried ice cream, coconut milk whipped cream, fried bananas, and red chile caramel sauce.

 

Celebratory "My Prospectus Is Defended" Dinner 3/18/14

1 - Roasted beets, Jacob and Brichford Arabella cheese, honey/balsamic, smoke; Ardbeg 10 year Scotch
2 - Lemon sorbet palette cleanser
3 - Salad/appetizer - Grilled brussels sprouts, apple cider vinegar, golden raisins, pancetta; New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
4 - Lobster claw, daikon, chives, roe, scallop, vanilla bubbles, shiitake mushroom; Sparkling Blanc De Blanc
5 - Potato soup with roasted-fennel Parmesan Chilean sea bass; buttery Chardonnay
6 - Palette cleanser: Cucumber, mint oil, pea puree
7 - Duck confit with warm spices and duck sausages, roasted wild forest mushrooms, Calvados-glazed roasted apples, cherry-port reduction; Cahors
8 - Brown butter sorbet, ginger noodles, cherry blossom foam

 

No Theme Dinner 7/2/16

1 - Squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese, orange zest, and crab. duo of sauces: chive-infused olive oil; almond white wine cream sauce
2 - Savory pistachio pound cake crostini, foie gras, grapes
3 - Trio of soups: cold carrot-tarragon soup, warm potato-leek soup, spicy Thai coconut red curry soup
4 - Vertical Caesar salad with croutons and sautéed pancetta
5 - Wild boar tenderloin, blueberry-black pepper sauce, wild rice, haricots verts with royal trumpet mushrooms
6 - Fried veal sweetbreads, truffled mashed potatoes, morel-madeira gravy

7 - Pavlova: vanilla meringue, ginger whipped cream, passion fruit
8 - Chocolate cake, orange pastry cream, chocolate ganache, strawberries, raspberries

Dissertation Defended Dinner 8/4/17

1 - Salad of mixed greens with lobster, hearts of palm, radishes, avocado, vinaigrette, bee pollen and fennel pollen. 2014 Trimbach Gewurztraminer
2 - Tempura calamari with bacon aioli. Perrier & Jouet Grand Brut champagne
3 - Beef tenderloin tartare, raw quail egg yolk, duck fat french fries, pickled veg (carrots, snap peas, eggplant). 2016 Domaine Houchart Cotes de Provence rosé
4 - Roasted Cornish hen ravioli, caramelized onion cream sauce, shaved black truffle. 2013 Gainey Vineyard merlot
5 - Sous vide confit of rabbit leg, herbed soft polenta with morels, butter-seared rabbit kidney and liver, asparagus tips, fava beans tossed in hazelnut oil. 2012 Domaine de Beaurenard Chateauneuf-du-Pape
6 - Assorted cheeses and accompaniments. Pear or apple cider
7 - Trio of baklava: honey-walnut-cinnamon; pistachio-cardamom-rose water; macadamia nut-allspice-dates-orange blossom water. 2016 Cascinetta Vietti moscato d'asti
8 - Lavender gelato and grilled peaches. Club soda with muddled raspberries