Citrus marinated salmon with confit of navel oranges, pea shoot coulis and American sturgeon caviar
Pinot Noir
Chilled asparagus soup with a wild mushroom pudding
Sauvignon Blanc
Roulade of duck breast with creamed corn and mushroom sauce
Riesling
Herb crusted rack of lamb with artichoke mustard sauce and caramelized onions
Cabernet Sauvignon
Whipped brie with watercress salad and balsamic reduction
No wine pairing
No wine pairing
Vanilla parfait with citrus biscut, lemon sorbet, crisp meringue, vanilla emulsion and a citrus foam
Riesling dessert wine
Aaron and Naomi are too modest to review the dinner they made, so even though, as their dad, I am somewhat biased, let me post my own thoughts about this meal:
Steve and Cindy, our gracious hosts for the evening, are people who have eaten extraordinary food all around the world. I've also been fortunate to have a good number of Michelin 3-star meals and lots of other amazing food. All of us agreed that ANY restaurant would have been proud to serve what came out of the kitchen of 15 and 13 year-old chefs. What they accomplished was truly remarkable, as they planned, shopped for and prepared the meal and pulled off beautiful presentations that also tasted remarkably good.
Most of the food came from recipes from some of the best chefs in the world, including Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert and Tom Collicchio, although Aaron and Naomi added their own touches as well. The replications of the dishes were spot on, and all of us were in a state of awe and wonder for the entire 3-hour meal. What was most amazing was that, although neither of them drink wine (for obvious reasons), Aaron managed to do a thorough job of researching what would work with these dishes, and the pairings were tremendous.
I always think about white wine with fish, but the pinot noir that went with Aaron's salmon was light, and helped further bring out the citrus that was a high point of the dish (of course, the magnificent saltiness of the caviar went perfectly with the sweetness as well).
We were worried that the sweetness of the Riesling would be a challenge to Aaron's duck roulade, but it was just perfect, allowing us to savor the umame of the mushroom sauce, the sweetness of the corn and the perfectly prepared duck.
None of us had ever had mushroom pudding before, and we were completely blown away by the taste and texture of Naomi's soup course, nicely balanced by the sauvignon blanc.
What can you say about rack of lamb? Naomi's unique spin was to do an artichoke mustard sauce along with some onions that were caramelized in many of the liquids that had been used in the preparation of the meal. The lamb was just the right temperature, and the Cabernet just the right accompaniment.
Naomi's cheese course followed, and the whipped brie with watercress salad and a perfectly-done toast round prepared the palate for the dessert course to follow.
As soon as I saw the dessert, I was immediately brought back to the meal Aaron and I shared at Le Bernardin. No surprise, as it was one of chef Ripert's creations. This dish had the most complex elements, and Aaron pulled them all off flawlessly, with the various lemon and vanilla components working together to create a dish to savor and remember.
As you can see, the plating was elegant and artistic, and the flavors matched their sophistication and skill. For all of us, it was a meal that we will not soon forget, and one that I could easily get used to eating. Bravo, chefs!
