An Evening of Exquisiteness at Blue Hill
/ELLIOTT AND THE FLATWARE AWAITING OUR MULTI COURSE DINNER
Several years ago, I introduced my cousin Marion Bush to Dan Barber at his extraordinary restaurant Blue Hill in Tarrytown, NY. Marion is a gatherer and purveyor of wild edibles and lives fairly nearby so I suspected it would be a perfect union. A few weeks ago Marion and her husband Marty, Elliott and I met at Blue Hill for dinner. We were served a vast array of amazingly imaginative dishes, each presented artfully in/on equally unique presentoirs. They arrived and were described at such a fast pace it was all we could do to document them while enjoying consuming them but with the "division of labor," (Marion writing and me photographing and crying out "don't touch it yet") we managed to do it. Here is just a mere fraction of the highlights (I missed photographing the little glass of cantalope tears as I was so stunned by the intensity of the very essence of the melon that I forgot to take the photo):
VEGETABLES FROM THE FARM WITH BABY FENNEL FRONDS
RADISHES WITH POPPY SEED BUTTER & POPPY SEEDS FROM THE POD
BABY KOHLRABI WITH MARIGOLD PUREE AND RASPBERRIES
"NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK" GRISSINI
CORNCOB LEMONADE
DEEP-FRIED LONG ISLAND WHITEBAIT ON SKEWERS
WILD FIELD GREENS WITH TARRAGON PESTO
TOMATO BURGERS
GAZPCHO JULEPS
COPA WITH MALTED BARBER WHEAT BREAD
BRIOCHE OF BARBER WHEAT SERVED IN BREAD ROOM, WITH FRESH CURD CHEESE AND VEGETABLE RELISH
THE AUSTRIAN FLOUR MILL
CHEF BOBBY SCHAFFER--BREAD MAESTRO
LAMB, BEET BOLOGNESE, SQUASH; SAUCE OF CHARCUTERIE & VINEGAR
WITH BEEF TALLOW POURED ONTO THE LAMB AT TABLE
WHEY & BASIL, PUFFED GRAINS & BERRIES, PEACHES, POPPED CORN WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE
ZUCCHINI CAKE
CHOCOLATE MINT, STRAWBERRIES, GRAPES, PLUMS, HONEY & GRAINS
The accompanying wines were: Langhe Arneis 2012, de Forville, Barbaresco, Italia, and la Demarrante Maxim Magnon 2011, la Vallée du paradis, Languedoc. * Chef Bobby has sent me the recipe for this incredible 100% Barber whole wheat flour brioche which I will be sharing on the blog after making it.