valentine's day
belated respect to outlaw chef terry chandler for cooking what, so far, is _the best meal i've eaten in 2006_ (new year's eve was still 2005, remember) at fred's on valentine's day. while still under the weather, i wasn't gonna miss the oppo to escort my sweetie out on the day (altho she 'n' i tend to take less notice of hallmark card holidays 'n ones we make up ourselves), knowing as we do that terry 'n' his staff are quietly brangin' _high end hospitality_ to the neighborhood fave eatery on special occasions like thisun.
the five-course extravaganza commenced with a pork empanada in chipotle cream sauce, a small but mighty li'l meat-filled, fried pastry that proudly announced, "soy un empanada, beeyotch -- eat me!" next up: a mango and jicama salad with guanabana dressing that both cleansed the palate and brought a li'l heat of its own. (a neophyte at this stuff, i learned that a jicama is a tuber and a guanabana is something like a pear. live 'n' learn.) the star of the meal, my sweetie 'n' i agreed, was terry's green chili oyster stew, each spoonful of which was a bouquet of flavors (smoky, creamy, buttery, with little bits of caramalized onion -- sublime!).
the bit of my sweetie's quail with rose petal mole sauce that i tasted was yummy, but i'm the kind of carnivore that doesn't like to mess with all the li'l bones in quail, so the fiery stuffed pork loin (and when terry sez fiery he means _fiery_) was, heh heh, just my meat. the heart-shaped potato pancake was the perfect medium for soaking up the red wine reduction sauce (and big props to brandon for the heart-shaped pats o' butter, recognizing the fact that presentation is a crucial part of food prep). in a rush to pick up my middle dtr at tcc south, we had to take dessert to go (fresh strawberries coated in dark chocolate -- insanely good).
add to all of that a beautiful sunset and the pleasure of seeing a fave joint reach beyond its normal fare and succeed spectacularly and you've got a meal we'll be talkin' about until...well, the next time terry pitches one of these wang dang doodles. ya mo' be theah -- maybe you, too?
the five-course extravaganza commenced with a pork empanada in chipotle cream sauce, a small but mighty li'l meat-filled, fried pastry that proudly announced, "soy un empanada, beeyotch -- eat me!" next up: a mango and jicama salad with guanabana dressing that both cleansed the palate and brought a li'l heat of its own. (a neophyte at this stuff, i learned that a jicama is a tuber and a guanabana is something like a pear. live 'n' learn.) the star of the meal, my sweetie 'n' i agreed, was terry's green chili oyster stew, each spoonful of which was a bouquet of flavors (smoky, creamy, buttery, with little bits of caramalized onion -- sublime!).
the bit of my sweetie's quail with rose petal mole sauce that i tasted was yummy, but i'm the kind of carnivore that doesn't like to mess with all the li'l bones in quail, so the fiery stuffed pork loin (and when terry sez fiery he means _fiery_) was, heh heh, just my meat. the heart-shaped potato pancake was the perfect medium for soaking up the red wine reduction sauce (and big props to brandon for the heart-shaped pats o' butter, recognizing the fact that presentation is a crucial part of food prep). in a rush to pick up my middle dtr at tcc south, we had to take dessert to go (fresh strawberries coated in dark chocolate -- insanely good).
add to all of that a beautiful sunset and the pleasure of seeing a fave joint reach beyond its normal fare and succeed spectacularly and you've got a meal we'll be talkin' about until...well, the next time terry pitches one of these wang dang doodles. ya mo' be theah -- maybe you, too?
posted by stashdauber at 4:52 PM
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