A couple of good friends came over, so we had a fancy 3-course dinner:
1. Puréed soup of roasted Kabocha and yellow beet with 1998 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
2. Shiitake risotto with Carciofi alla Romana (Roman style artichokes) and poached quail eggs with Thackrey‘s Pleiades XII
3. Pan-roasted duck breast on burdock-parsnip purée with pomegranate-tamarind-blood orange reduction with the 2001 Carver Sutro Petite Sirah
Our one vegetarian guest had patties made from mung beans and red quinoa mixed with a bit of flour, grated parmesan, and smoked salt fried up crisp over the same root purée.
Dessert was a very dense and yummy chocolate cake from Balducci‘s with my kumquat marmalade which goes so well with chocolate.