Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Eve Degustation

Our Christmas Eve dinner was a bit different this year - due to the presence of a couple of these black beauties

Périgord truffle© by Haalo

This year we managed to score two Périgord truffles for Christmas and so decided to feature them in a degustation dinner.

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Truffled Parsnip Soup with Shaved Truffle - similar to this soup but have omitted the leek and decreased the quantity of potato. A few truffle slices were also added to the soup while it was cooking.

Usuzukuri© by Haalo

Hapuka and Hiramasa Kingfish "Usuzukuri" - based on a dish by Tetsuya Wakuda. Slivers of Hapuka and Kingfish are drizzled with a dressing of soy, mirin, pickled ginger and lemon juice. It's then topped with a mix of micro herbs and greens and Yarra Valley Salmon Roe.


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Caramelised Onion and Truffle Tart - based on a recipe by Serge Dansereau. The tart is comprised of a simple puff pastry base and is topped with warmed caramelised onions that have been adjusted with a little sour cream. It's crowned with slivers of black truffle.

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Stuffed Zucchini in Tempura Batter - simply stuffed with a mix of ricotta, persian fetta, parmesan and chives. Finished off with a drizzle of 30 yo Balsamic.

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Chive Butter Tiger Prawns - similar to this recipe

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Mixed Mushrooms and Truffle "al Cartoccio" - based on this recipe. In this version, I've used king pine, oyster and shimeji mushrooms along with truffle slices.

I didn't take any photos of the main course but we did enjoy a simple trio - Roast Beef with Truffle Mustard, Cauliflower in Truffled Béchamel Sauce and a mixed tomato salad.

Dessert was a rather gorgeous Trifle made by my sister that I also forgot to take a photo of. I'll just blame that on the champagne and hope she'll make another!

6 comments

  1. Mmm Mouthwatering! What a great way to celebrate Christmas! (a late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, by the way!)

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  2. Happy Holidays and wishing you a happy new year. May all your dreams come true.

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  3. I could eat that whole usuzukuri dish by myself! The whole dinner sounds wonderful.

    What else do you use the 30 year-old balsamic vinegar on?

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  4. Snap (but only a timid one). I couldn't bring a whole truffle back with me, but I managed to bring some truffle oil that transformed our creamed Brussels sprouts dish on Christmas Day. Our roast goose was incredible, but looking at your menu, we must get a bit more creative next year. Hope you has a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

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  5. A very classy celebration indeed. Hope you had a lovely Xmas.

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  6. Have a wonderful new year Y!

    Thanks Ivy - all the best for the coming year!

    Thanks Nate & Annie - I mostly drizzle it over things and sometimes I will use it in a salad. I've used similar aged vinegars on things like bruschetta, pasta, borettane onions

    Thanks Trig - we had a great Christmas and I hope you're going to have a fabulous 2009!

    Thanks Valentina - it was lovely and hope yours was too!

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