Fourth Course: Pork Belly

I wrote First Course for the Amuse but that's not accurate, this'll actually end up at 7 courses but it was just 6 but whatever.

This pork belly was crisp on the outside and completely soft and melty on the inside.  You could cut it with a spoon.  It sat on a diablo glaze, a reduction of rice vinegar and some spicies and some yummies.  Diablo glaze is the jam.

A crunchy pear salad and fried mint on top to balance the spice of the glaze.

This was delicious, and pocket-sized: next time I'm in the Carillon kitchen I'm pocketing some pork belly.

(j/k Chef.)

Third Course: Scallop

Umm, so I forgot to take a picture at first. 

A pistachio-crusted scallop, chanterelle mushrooms, truffle herb salad.  I have had so many skanky scallops that I am almost a little skeeved out by them.  But this course was my favorite of the night.  That little old herb salad was so flavorful and was a delicious pairing with the scallop.  The salad and the mushrooms were rad complements to the scallop; each seemed to have half of the protein's flavors in it, and the whole thing worked so well.

Cooked perfectly too.  

Second Course: Tuna Tartare

I freaked on out this little guy.  The tartare was mixed with granny smith apples, egg yolk, garlic.  On top, small fried parsnips and julienned granny smith apples.  The green sauce is like a pesto without the pine nuts.  Candied almonds, hoisin-like sauce.

Forgot to mention, Chef Watkins delivered the courses and explained each course's preparation and components.

This was damn good.  I'd like to fill a pool with this and eat my way out.

First Course: Amuse

Before the amuse course, my waiter brought me fresh bread and creamy unsalted butter, topped with black volcano salt. 

From Left:

A prosciutto-wrapped fig.  First thing I ate.  Perfectly ripe and delicious.

A potato soup.  A small fried potato chip as garnish.  So warm and comforting.  I wanted to stick my tongue in the container like an aardvark and lick it all out.

I forgot the specifics here, but it was a disc of sausage atop a light crouton.  The sausage had a dollop of a delicate red sauce.  It was so good.

My table at the Carillon

Jennifer got me a reservation for a chef's tasting menu at The Carillon.  I showed up about 40 minutes early, and the host said they had my table prepared.  I was surprised, because I thought I would need to wait until my reservation time.  The waiter didn't lead me to a spot in the dining room (honestly, I thought I was just going to sit at the bar) - he took me away from the main dining area and into a waiter's station.

They had prepared me a special table where I could see directly into the kitchen.  Jen had told them about culinary school, so they set up a cool table just for me.  Chef Watkins introduced himself, his chef de cuisine, and the other two chefs.  We talked for a moment, and then he offered me a tour of his kitchen.  We checked out the hot side, the sautee and flat top, the hot side's mise en place and protein drawers.  Then the cold side, Watkins' expediting station, and the chef de cuisine's station. 

I was totally stunned and flattered.  Tickets came in so I let myself out and went back to my table for the start of my menu.

The Carillon:
http://www.meetattexas.com/restaurants.html

Chef Watkins:
http://www.meetattexas.com/executive-chef.html

Bay leaves

I don't have a clear understanding of what bay leaves bring to the table, so I'm seasoning brown rice with two bay leaves.  I thought that'd be a good vehicle to get a better idea of the bay leaf.

Pumpkin challenge

Jennifer is giving me a weekly food challenge now, in preparation for school.  My first challenge was 'pumpkin'.
I bought a pumpkin, cut it into quarters, scraped the gunk out, and roasted it at 375 for an hour.  Removed the meat from the skin, pureed the meat, and lo! Pumpkin puree.
Then I followed a choice pumpkin bread recipe I found online (go to foodgawker.com, they're everywhere) and hooked it up.  Marcel, my 8yr old critic, said it rocked so I'll reprise for Thanksgiving.