Zits & Wrinkles

[EDITED! I REMEMBERED THE LOST COURSE!]

OH HI!

Last night, the feller and I celebrated our one-year anniversary at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, which is basically my second American Culinary Mecca (following Chez Panisse, where we had lunch in December). We went whole hog, so to speak, with a 12-course menu, and then we rolled ourselves into a car back to Brooklyn, and I actually slept the whole way. And I do not sleep in vehicles, generally, so you can really tell how drunk and full I was.

Anyway, while I am thinking about it, I want to document all twelve courses and amuses bouches. Because I will forget in a day. Some of this may make no sense to those of you reading this who are not inside my head! I just want to remember.

Amuse 1: spring veggie bits on those ol’ Blue Hill spikes that they also use on Washington St., jerusalem artichoke + celery soup w/ beer foam

Amuse 2: MINI WONDERFUL BEET BURGERS

Amuse 3: Cured heritage pork on polenta cracker insanity

Amuse 4: Dried/baked thin chips of parsnip, kale, and something else

Amuse 5: Beet yogurt with beet sugar and homemade “grape nuts”

I dunno, was that all of them? This was in cocktail time.

Course 1: Smoked mullet, mullet roe, spring veggies

Course 2: First Shiitakes of the Season, walnut and pancetta dressing, greens

Course 3: FIGHTIN’ SPINACH to smear around in chorizo sauce and some other sauce and a magical egg and hazelnut powder

Course 4: Heirloom grain brioche, chard marmalade, cracked pepper, FRESH RICOTTA CHEESE WHICH I SHAMELESSLY CONSUMED WITH A SPOON.

Course 5: A parsnip that tasted like apple pie, with beet ketchup.

Course 6: Bread. Butter. Lardo. Corn Salt. Sage Salt. SOFT POACHED EGG. And homemade matzah!

Course 7: The Onion That Thinks It’s A Shallot, with a little chicken liver, a little cabbage slaw, a little yogurt with sunflower seeds, and a little pea puree

Course 8: PORK CHEEK PORK CHEEK PORK CHEEK. There were other things on the plate with it, but I was too busy with the cheek.

Course 9: Cheese! Creamy and stinky. With an apple chutney and a crabapple something and rye pretzels.

Course 10: Beet and chocolate cake with pink peppercorn sorbet. Beet cake! With chocolate! So amazingly delicious.

Course 11: Honey ginger lemon sorbet soup mush of amazingness

Course 12: Final Amuse? Brandy-filled chocolate things and a variety of cookies and whatnots.