Food and Stuff

This post is mostly about food, and not too much about stuff.  But I had to give a quick nod to one of my favorite characters, Ron Swanson, on one of my favorite TV shows, Parks and Recreation.   “Food and Stuff” is where he buys all of his food…  and most of his stuff.

I can’t overemphasize the fact that I love to eat.  Most people are surprised when they find out exactly how much I eat.  In the interest of full disclosure, I once ate most of four orders of beignets in New Orleans in one sitting.  I often eat ice cream for breakfast, and I always order the extra-large bowl of Vietnamese pho and usually don’t even feel that full afterward.

Anyway, here’s a recent exquisite meal that Evan and I shared.  We started with beef carpaccio layered with dijon aioli, arugula salad, and parmesan shavings.

For the main course we had pan-seared black salmon glazed with barbecue sauce.  Served with sweet yellow corn chive mashed potatoes with crispy shoestrings, spinach, and horseradish demi glace.

Finally, for dessert we finished with a pastry cigar filled with diplomat cream.  That cream was seriously sinful.  Really, one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.

And because two desserts are better than one, we also had a biscuit croustillant with dark ganache.  The crunchy bottom layer was made of white chocolate and praline, the top layer chocolate mousse.  Yum.