erika, finally a FCM close to my heart!
OK, here's my August Reveillon menu:
After checking in, freshening up, and orienting ourselves, we went to the Absinthe Bar for a Sazerac before hitting Restaurant August for our 6pm reservation. We were a little early, and we had a couple of drinks at the bar there- I had a Sazerac followed by a great French 75. Tom had a couple bottles of the Abita seasonal pecan beer, which sounded weird but was actually pretty great.
On to the meal! Tom wanted the 4 course tasting menu and I wanted the 7 course Reveillon menu- we were informed that the entire table needed to order the 7 course meal, due to timing issues, but Tom was able to sub out as many courses as he wanted to, so he subbed out 3 courses. It worked out great! I had the wine pairings, which were very nice.
Here's how it broke down, I will refrain from commenting, because I don't want this to be too long, but everything was AWESOME, one of the 3 best meals of my life (The French Laundry being one of the others)
Amuse: truffle whipped seafood sabayon with fish fume custard served in an eggshell with a brioche crouton and caviar.
Course 1: Spiced pain perdu and roast fois gras with persimmon. Tom said that it was one of the best things he'd ever put in his mouth. (pairing: Champagne, Jean Claude Thevenet, Brut Blanc de Blanc.)
Course 2: Brouillade aux truffle- La Provence farmed eggs, Perigord truffle. so simple, so good. (pairing: Chardonnay, J.M. Boillot 1 er Cru Montagny, Burgundy, 2007.)
Course 3: I had the turtle soup "grand mere" finished off with Pedro Jimenez sherry. (pairing: Zinfendel Surh Luchtel Napa Valley 2006.)
- Tom had the acorn squash mezze luna with satsuma, local chestnuts, and fennel.
Course 4: I had the pocket roast of veal breast with P&G oyster dressing and glazed turnips. (pairing: Tempernillo Marques de Murrieta Reserva, Finca Ygay, Rioja, Spain. 2005.)
- Tom had the slow-cooked venison shoulder with spatzle, braised red cabbage, and stuffed lady apple (stuffed with a dried fruit compote).
Course 5: slow cooked Christmas goose with cranberry, "cracklin" and goose liver stuffed knoedel (potato). There were also braised leeks, and the goose was served both sliced and in a pate/terrine-esque fashion. (pairing: Bordeaux, Chateau de Crusveau, Pessac Leognan, France, 2005.)
Course 6: blue cheese semifreddo with quince, pomegranate and pecan brittle (pairing: Muscat de Beaume de Venise Reserve, Vidal-Fleury, France, 2007.)
- Tom: Crispy fried "berliners" with cranberries, meyer lemon, and rosemary.
Course 7: Warm fall fruit stuffed seckel pear with vanilla cinnamon mousse and candied chestnuts. (pairing: Madeira, Rare Wine Co., Historic Series, "Boston" Bual Reserve, Portugal)