I'm just going to call this dessert Claire's Best Idea 2007 because it was amazing. We rolled out peanut paper per the instructions of the cooks at Cafe Atlantico's minibar, and the rest was all Claire's idea. She bought some good vanilla ice cream, thought to make cardamom vanilla sauce out of some mealy peaches we bought at Whole Foods, and took me raspberry picking because I requested that my trip include one outdoor activity. Put them all together, and it's a delicious dessert!
Here's the dessert before being topped with peanut paper. Already beautiful, but the peanut paper really was what made it unique. Peanut and peaches are not something I would ever have thought to put together, but they harmonized beautifully in this dessert. The raspberries added color, crunch, and tanginess so that the dish was not too homogenous. All in all, incredible!
So thanks again to Claire for being a fabulous hostess and putting me up (and putting up with me) for an entire week. It was fun for me to get to her side of the continent after all the times she's visited me in SF and LA. More photos to come, I promise. I have hundreds from NYC and DC!
6 comments:
I know that you'd probably blog anyways even if no one else was reading it but I, for one, am very thankful for it. I'm going through stressful times now but reading your blog always puts a smile on my face. I love how you approach food--fun, energetic, passionate, finicky, with a sense of humor and irony. Because with food, as with life, that's the way it should be! It is good to be reminded of that now and again!
a
Can you post how to make peanut paper please??
I think that should be my and Pei's little secret. I have been way too eager in the past to share my tips for recipes. Might be nice to preserve the mystique for a change...
Ha. Since Claire was the one who asked the cook for the "recipe" in the first place, I'll defer to her on this one. Anyone who wants to know can go eat at Minibar and find out! They are very forthcoming with their methods, since they know the average Joe isn't going to want or be able to attempt what they do on a nightly basis.
a, thank you for compliments! I started blogging because I wanted a way to share my favorite restaurants and dishes with my friends without repeating myself over and over. And since people seemed to enjoy it, it became an almost daily thing. I think of it as my diary--with photos!
Once Pei and I master the next Molecular Gastronomy technique (which is fritters with a liquid center), maybe I will feel more inclined to share.
I want to propose that they do MG Moules Frites. Imagine one mussel sitting in a bed of cream foam, encircled by deep red saffron sauce with a tiny mountain of microscopic chopped scallions at one end, garnished with microherbs, and a tiny glass cube holding two or three twisted deep fried potato sticks to one side.
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