As I type this, I still shake my head a little. Today we celebrate our 24th anniversary–my how time flies. It seems just like yesterday that we shared our first meal together. I/we feel so fortunate, thankful & blessed, for many, many things.
We had a meal last night prepared by chef Madden Surbaugh, who has a seasonal restaurant on Orcas Island. He was in Seattle last eve cooking a ‘farm to table’ meal for a small group of us. It really was extra special, as well as incredibly tasty, I really wanted to share it with all of you. To throw things over the top, each course was served with a special cocktail, many gin based, so we knew we were in for a lively night with much laughter.
All of the food and alcohol was from purveyors in the San Juan Islands. They were present too, and each talked a bit about their offerings. Many of you who read these posts I know have a major love of food, as we do. Here is the menu in its very descriptive entirety. I thought you would enjoy the level of detail.
Baked smelt in pastry with bitter orange, caramelized fennel and thyme stuffing. Brown butter sherry vinaigrette and marcona almonds. Served with a ’12 Anderson’ which is gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, champagne and orange bitters.
Then roasted pork jowl with a poached egg (the color of the jolk reminded me of a Bresse egg from France, it was so fresh & orange) served with brandade cream. It was served with a ‘Hard Pressed’ which is made up of apple eau de vie, lemon juice, cider vinegar, maple syrup and soda water.
Next up was curried oysters with a celeriac & apple salad. The drink for this course was Wescott Bay dry cider.
Then onto the meat course. Braised goat with a root vegetable empanada & gremolata. It was served with a ‘Suzy P’ which is gin, sweet vermouth, lavender rose liquor, lime juice, cucumber and creole bitters.
And finally dessert. A tea cake with grapefruit panna cotta, white chocolate caramel and brazil nuts. It was served with a ‘General Equality’ which is Earl grey tea, nasturtium liquor, gin, lemon juice and Peychaud’s bitters.
I hope you enjoyed the descriptions. It was a lovely, memorable evening and meal. The perfect way to kick-off our anniversary week-end!
We were given some very special bottles of gin for Holiday gifts–I guess our friends know of our love of Friday eve martinis. One bottle was a type I knew very little about and had only tried a few times. Having our very own bottle has changed that, and I have done a bit of research on this spiffy, somewhat apothecary style bottle. Distilled in Alameda, California, St. George Spirits has been around for 30 years. Terroir gin is an ode to the wild beauty of the Golden State. This profoundly aromatic gin is forest driven and earthy. Think Douglas fir, California bay laurel, coastal sage–and you have one very unique sipping gin or one amazing martini. Plus the bottle looks quite cool sitting out to be visually enjoyed. Good stuff.
