The last 65th birthday lunch by Stevie

I got real busy making preparations for my 65th birthday lunch, a nine-course feast I prepared for a dozen folks using 65 ingredients. In attendance were some of my favorite people. One them is Jason Sheehan, restaurant reviewer for Denver's alternate weekly, Westword. Jason blogged about my lunch. Want to read it? Go here: blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2009/04/cooking_at_home.php

The recipes are too daunting to post here. Some of them are for things I've blogged about before. Some of them were never written down. In any case, I'm going to put the menu in here with pictures.

The Last Annual 65th Birthday Party by Stevie
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 – chez Russell/Crout


menu
(65 ingredients)


beverages (1)*
(beer, wine, soft drink, or clamato bloody Mary)

gravlax with beet carpaccio; olive tapenade; Caesar-style salad (7)
dill-cured salmon over shaved roasted beets garnished with sesame seeds; a blend of olives and chick peas on an endive spear; radicchio with a lemon/parmesan dressing

le soup; le pb & jello sandwich (5)
carrot and fennel soup with grains of paradise; pistachio butter and home-grown grape jello mimic the traditional sandwich flavor

quesadilla estilo Esteban (7)
tortillas with chorizo, asadero cheese and epazote, with a piquant salsa and guacamole


les oeufs quatre façons (7)
eggs 4 ways: quail egg on a mushroom cap; smelt roe (masago)in a ramen noodle nest; “deviled” potato with cured pollock roe (mentaiko); regular hard-boiled egg


pomegranate granita (1)
with which to cleanse the palate

shrimp mac and cheese; celeriac/celery slaw (6)
Israeli couscous with poached shrimp, mascarpone and a mild, creamy bleu cheese; a variation on traditional slaw

corned beef with Thai kraut; whiting salad and black radish(4)
a pair of deli-style favorites along with something weird (inspired by sauerkraut, green papaya salad, and kim chee)

tref cones with hummus; slumdog wings (3)
soy bean hummus in roasted bacon cones; tandoori-style roasted wingettes

creamsicle ice cream with fudgesicle sauce (3)
tastes from youth


*indicates the number of main components (total = 44, corresponding to my birth year); additional 21 ingredients: salt, pepper, onion , butter, broth, paprika, mayonnaise, sesame oil, garam masala, wasabi, cumin, olive oil, cream, gelatin, grains of paradise, scallions, soy sauce, onion, lemon, capers, xanthan gum