I Threw Down (but not up)

I typically order the chicken. While I'm not a simple  "meat & potatoes" kind of girl, I'm also not quite an adventurous eater. I watch shows like Anthony Bordain's No Reservations with my hands half-covering my eyes. So last night was kind of a big deal.  I put my "culinary big girl panties" on and ate an unreal 17 course meal.

I'll post the menu below and if you try to guess the two things I liked best or the two things I liked least, I'll enter you to win on Monday an autographed copy of my book It's No Secret and free access to the conference calls Melissa Taylor and I will be doing in a couple weeks in an online study of my book.

But first, let me explain who made this interpretation of the 17 Classical Courses of French Cuisine. This was a thrown down with 33 chefs from 16 higher education institutions (including my own UNC system).

The chefs were divided into groups, then each group was given seven mystery ingredients and three hours to prepare two courses with them. The courses were then judged by experts and three chefs were chosen to advance to the national competition. Rick and I, along with some other university representatives, got to eat the meal after the judges sampled and chose.

(sorry for the blurry cell phone photo)

Without further adieu, here is the menu - which I was handed as soon as I walked in the door so I knew everything I was eating. I still can't believe I ate every single thing listed here!  And really there were only two that I would rather not put in my mouth again - that astounds me! 

Amuse-bouche

marinated local lamb ravioli with tomato ragout, mint caviar, and fried basil

Hors d'oeuvre (appetizer)

black garbanzo bean hummus with pink Hawaiian sea salt, tri-pepper relish, and fontina cheese

Potage (soup)

local collards soup with bird's eye pepper powder and smoked fromage blanc (white cheese)

Oeufs (eggs)

local quail egg with deep fried pork belly, smokey tomato vinaigrette, and micro greens

Farineaux (rice or pasta)

black squid ink risotto with plugra herb butter, Parmesan chip and chive gremolata

Fire & Ice (fish)

FIRE: local stripped sea bass cooked on Himalayan salt bocks with sweet pepper chutney

ICE: raw stripped sea bass with citrus ceviche, radish, green onion and sweet pepper chutney

Sorbet (flavored ice)

Cabernet Savignon sorbet with blueberry jelly

Releve (meat course)

local pickled beef tongue with fried aioli, arugula and brioche

Roti (raost)

local shredded goat with sweet potato latke and chive creme friache

Legumes (veggies)

ratatouille "martini", green goddess drizzle, ricotta salata, alfalfa sprouts

Salades (salad)

Caesar "gelato" in cornet with romaine lettuce and fried anchovy

Buffet Froid (cold buffet)

local rabbit sausage with rosemary focaccia crisp, red dragon cheese and daikon sprouts

Entremet de Sucre (sweets)

black bean and carob cupcake with orange creme frosting and sugar-smacked bacon sprinkles

Savoreaux (savory)

fava bean and pear cupcake with pecorino and local goat cheese icing, topped with fried sage

Fromage (cheese)

local goat cheese with grape and spiced pecan

Muenster cheese with green apple and micro greens

local Carolina blue cheese with orange date-nut bread

Desserts

lemon pound cake with lemon curd and earl grey tea with local honey and thyme drizzle

Cafe (coffee)

espresso truffle with beignet and hazelnut vanilla foam, with coffee

Here's what I learned: A top chef is a true artist, using a palate of colors and flavors. He or she can make anything taste good. I learned that herbs take on an interesting new twist when flash fried. And salts have different colors and flavors depending on where they are mined from. I also discovered exactly what rabbit sausage, beef tongue, goat meat, raw sea bass and black squid ink taste like.

And I found I'm a more adventurous eater than I previously thought. I guess watching all those Food Network shows and reading French Lessons by Peter Mayle paid off. 

Any guesses on which two things I liked best or least?

Anything here sound totally yummy to you?

Besides the expresso truffle, because that's a no-brainer. :) 

This post is linked at Ann Kroeker's Food on Fridays.