Warning: this is a long post!!!
Oh what a happy experience this was. Four of us visited Castagna's last Saturday night. We all tried to order different things the whole time so we could taste as many of the offerings as possible.
We drank June's Krug Champagne with the first two courses - she brought it from New York for us to have together.
For the rest of the dinner we had R. Lopez de Heredia, “Bonconia” Rioja Reserve, 2001, $60.00 (80% Tempranillo) - it was wonderful with everything!
Chef Matt Lightner is only 29 years old!! and has been with the restaurant for 7 months. My Lord, can that man cook!
He has been named one of the top 10 chefs of 2010 – will be in F&W magazine in June, I think it is.
First Course -
"Crab"
Dungeness crab with amaranth, lemon (foam) and cardamom - the foam was out of this world
I had this one - "Tartare"
- bison tenderloin, brioche, malt, pickles and fragrant seeds
"Salmon"
- chinook, mustard seeds, jamon broth, toasted shrimp and lardo
"Chipiron" - I had this one and the puree was so good all of us were swiping bread thru it to get every bit!
fresh squid on the plancha, charcoal vegetable puree and sorrel
"New Potatoes" - Roy had this one and it was the epitome of how good 'simple' can be - it was outstanding
slow cooked potatoes, gruyere and its water, herbs
"Ferns"
roasted lamb shoulder, fiddlehead ferns, watercress and wild liquorice
"Carrots" - the only drawback of the evening, the duck was just a tad undercook (even for me)
roasted duck breast with black garlic (yummy!), heirloom carrots and geranium broth.
"Ramps"
charred New York strip loin, toasted ramps and oyster emulsion
"Apple" - I had this one and the apple was yummy warm and the ice cream, sooo good.
poached apple, salted caramel and fresh cheese ice cream
"Chocolate" and it was chocolate!!
chocolate mousse, almond streusel, frozen white chocolate berries and vegetables (don't know what that meant)
"Orange" - this was so light, airy and I wanted more of it!
heirloom oranges, marzipan, mousse, orange blossom ice cream
That's it!
There was one dish on the menu that no one ordered, darn it - "Morels" - slow duck egg, chicken skin, wild greens, nettles and pinenut puree - we asked what a 'slow cooked duck egg' was as opposed to not 'slow cooked'. The egg is cooked in 61° for approx. 1 hour.
This little chef is sure going to be well known before long - the dinner was worth every penny....
If anyone has made it this far, I hope you'll try Castagnas when you're in Portland.
Oh what a happy experience this was. Four of us visited Castagna's last Saturday night. We all tried to order different things the whole time so we could taste as many of the offerings as possible.
We drank June's Krug Champagne with the first two courses - she brought it from New York for us to have together.
For the rest of the dinner we had R. Lopez de Heredia, “Bonconia” Rioja Reserve, 2001, $60.00 (80% Tempranillo) - it was wonderful with everything!
Chef Matt Lightner is only 29 years old!! and has been with the restaurant for 7 months. My Lord, can that man cook!
He has been named one of the top 10 chefs of 2010 – will be in F&W magazine in June, I think it is.
First Course -
"Crab"
Dungeness crab with amaranth, lemon (foam) and cardamom - the foam was out of this world
I had this one - "Tartare"
- bison tenderloin, brioche, malt, pickles and fragrant seeds
"Salmon"
- chinook, mustard seeds, jamon broth, toasted shrimp and lardo
"Chipiron" - I had this one and the puree was so good all of us were swiping bread thru it to get every bit!
fresh squid on the plancha, charcoal vegetable puree and sorrel
"New Potatoes" - Roy had this one and it was the epitome of how good 'simple' can be - it was outstanding
slow cooked potatoes, gruyere and its water, herbs
"Ferns"
roasted lamb shoulder, fiddlehead ferns, watercress and wild liquorice
"Carrots" - the only drawback of the evening, the duck was just a tad undercook (even for me)
roasted duck breast with black garlic (yummy!), heirloom carrots and geranium broth.
"Ramps"
charred New York strip loin, toasted ramps and oyster emulsion
"Apple" - I had this one and the apple was yummy warm and the ice cream, sooo good.
poached apple, salted caramel and fresh cheese ice cream
"Chocolate" and it was chocolate!!
chocolate mousse, almond streusel, frozen white chocolate berries and vegetables (don't know what that meant)
"Orange" - this was so light, airy and I wanted more of it!
heirloom oranges, marzipan, mousse, orange blossom ice cream
That's it!
There was one dish on the menu that no one ordered, darn it - "Morels" - slow duck egg, chicken skin, wild greens, nettles and pinenut puree - we asked what a 'slow cooked duck egg' was as opposed to not 'slow cooked'. The egg is cooked in 61° for approx. 1 hour.
This little chef is sure going to be well known before long - the dinner was worth every penny....
If anyone has made it this far, I hope you'll try Castagnas when you're in Portland.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
www.achefsjourney.com