not starving

I know you think because I haven't posted in a while that we must be starving- LOL - OK so maybe that isn't what you were thinking LOL....

And you would be right we are not... even though it's August we are still catching up on favorites in the hood...

and since I posted last we met up with Lynn, Maryanne and Judy for a birthday dinner at Cafe Marbella (prior posts with lots of photo found here- http://blog.semifreelife.com/2017/06/food-wine-part-x.html ) and then we met up with friends two days later to introduce them to Bien Me Sabe (prior post with lots of photos found here - http://blog.semifreelife.com/2017/05/a-big-win.html ) so we did not go hungry last week and this week we haven't either- LOL

the high point of dining this week would definitely be Lao Sze Chuan - only kidding- that is our local Szechuan place and while we did go there this week and we did have some good food it was not the highlight of the week's meals.

the highlight would definitely be the popup collaboration of two excellent chefs - one you will recognize from no less than ten posts here - Jake Bickelhaupt (late of 42 grams) whom you last saw here in this post from May 5th- http://blog.semifreelife.com/2017/05/still-going-strong.html and Claudia star chef Trevor Teich... they were doing a collaborative dinner at Claudia for just a few meals this weekend.  So off we went with Chaine friends John & Stephanie to a fabulous evening of conversation over good food and good wine with good folks!

I have to tell you I did not come even close to memorizing the food courses and their varied and sometimes exotic ingredients so you will just have to trust me that the food was amazing-

two caviar courses - two foie courses and two A5 wagyu courses are only a few highlights - each chef did his own take on the ingredients and it was a completely fun night for "compare and contrast"

so here they are in order and when I can identify things I will - LOL

above our Bento box of starters with oyster with caviar and the tuna "roll" has foie gras inside!
below Jake's take on foie gras with amazing crunch of the rice noodles over a smooth textured foie

part of the duo shown in the next two photo- an Asian "broth" gelee served with the plated peas and sorbet- wish I remembered this course better but as I go through all sixteen you will know why I was a little hazy -

the sea urchin course which was custard-y and had other wonderful note of the sea - including dulse and the briny foam...

a course I didn't get to eat due to allergy  but I got my very own replacement with double caviar- LOL

mine shown below without the coconut custard base and other coconut elements - and while I cannot speak for the others' dish mine was fabulous and decadent with the two kinds of caviar and the salmon! Thanks Trevor!

I am fairly certain this is a tuna tartare dish with three kinds of toro-

I remember this dish being black sesame (the bar) - but beyond that I am unsure LOL

a dish with black truffle and other veggie things with duck feet jus (we laughed about it being kind of sort of vegan until you got to the duck feet...

the first riff on Wagyu - as a PHO type dish with a terrific broth that slightly cooked the raw A5...

the second - Jake's signature A5 wagyu seared and served with emulsified beef tendon and bone marrow

a refreshing veggie side LOL - served on its own - a carrot popsicle covered with peas - veggies were never as appealing as this course - dessert like in flavor and textures - it was a winner!

the cheese course with Jake's flax "cheeto" and the mangalitsa ham cured in the Iberico style over a fresh cheese (homage to Wisconsin)

a palate cleanser of rose based flavors in varying presentations - yum yum!

a triple or quadruple coconut dessert the others had - using sprouted coconuts (photo follows later)

My substitute was avocado ice cream with crunchy bits and something else hidden underneath that rounded out the full flavored dessert  LOL but it is secret because I don't remember LOL

the take home with cookies and candy

Jake shows us the sprouted coconut (which none of us had ever seen)

a terrific meal with terrific company- the hour was getting past 1 AM and so we headed home with our goodie bags knowing there would be treats to follow!

As I said - we aren't starving and we have been meeting up with friends to socialize and share a meal while catching up on everyone's lives.... and in case you haven't heard (been a cave somewhere) there is an eclipse coming up- something I have waited three years for!

here is my blog post from March 2014 - the opening lines give you the point from which I can time my awaiting the eclipse-

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

world's cutest 65 year old guy!!!!

so Angela and Lee came to visit and Larry came up from Miami... the number one choice of attractions on Angela's list was to visit Snooty... he lives at the Parker Aquarium in the South Florida Museum. We did stop to take in the Star Talk at the all new planetarium (which was great) now we know not to miss the solar eclipse August 21, 2017 in Murfreesboro TN! but on to Snooty- the main event!

as it turns out you don't have to go to Murfreesboro (where I had a hotel reservation for over 18 months) the full eclipse for the full 2 minutes and 45 seconds can be viewed in a path between Columbia MO and Murfreesboro TN and some amount of time less than the 2 minutes 45 seconds along a swath of the country from the west to east coast.  I marked the area of longest eclipse by the red arrows- 

but as those who know us know - go big or go home - so we are heading to the full two minutes and forty five seconds of total eclipse near Columbia MO in a week - more to follow on that topic...

friends are headed to various places from Charleston SC to Wyoming - but we decided to combine this with a trip to the Churchill Museum in Fulton MO - site of the "Iron Curtain" speech... you know historians - LOL - we think a visit there would be FUN! LOL.... stay tuned!