The year didn't start well for my family. On January 1st my husband broke his leg, and it took him about six months before he could really get out of the house. One result of this is that I was doing a lot of cooking at home.
Fortunately, I received two wonderful cookbooks during the last holiday season - Jean-Georges: Cooking At Home
and Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges
. For someone who loves to cook as much as I do, I don't own too many cookbooks. I sometimes enjoy looking at cookbooks for inspiration or to learn certain techniques, but I seldom follow others' recipes exactly. Jean-Georges' cookbooks are an exception. I immediately loved those cookbooks and in the first six months of the year I made practically every recipe. 
At the end of June, my husband and I finally had a chance for a mini-vacation, traveling to Las Vegas to eat at Joel Robuchon at the Mansion. This turned out to be the most perfect culinary experience we have ever had. All the dishes were amazingly creative and prepared perfectly, the flavors were extraordinary, the presentations were delightfully artistic, and the excellent service made us feel like royalty. Our favorites included Le Caviar, La Saint-Jacques, and Les Crustacés, but really we loved every course. This experience exceeded even our very high expectations and became the culinary highlight of my year. (Read the full review of Joel Robuchon at the Mansion.)In July, we visited Savannah, Georgia. One standout here was the delightful Southern cuisine at the Pink House. We loved the Southern Sushi of shrimp and grits, crab hush puppies, and very delicate sweet potato ravioli. Our favorite dish was the Bourbon pork loin, cooked with amazing flavor and consistency.
After spending a few days in Savannah, we headed to the luxurious and beautiful Sea Island Resort, on the Georgia coast. One major reason why we chose this destination was their new 5-star restaurant, the Georgian Room. Chef Scott Crawford's unique menu perfectly captured the sweet summer taste of Georgia. Our favorites here included the shrimp bisque, Foie Gras served over pecan pain perdu, and Kobe Beef with grits souffle. (Read the full review of Georgian Room.) This also my four-year-old daughter's first experience at a 5-star restaurant. Here's what she had to say: My favorite part was our dinner at Georgian Room. We dressed up in fancy clothes. There was a pretty harp and we listened to harp music. The Georgian Room was so fancy. I liked the sweet melon and goat cheese. And I had chilled corn soup with bacon ice cream. It tasted a weird taste and it was yummy. I had some special breads and I tried a Georgian cheese. I tried some of the dessert and chocolate candies. At the end, I got to meet the chef in the kitchen. The next day we did a kitchen tour. We saw the bakery, and we saw where the chefs cook. And that was my favorite part.
In August, we traveled to Dublin, Ireland. We had a wonderful time exploring the city and surrounding areas including Newgrange and the Hill of Tara. Of course, we sampled food in the pubs and enjoyed such dishes as Guiness beef stew and fish & chips. However, Dublin is becoming a more sophisticated food destination as well. Our two best meals were at the Tea Room and Thornton's. The Tea Room featured an excellent modern Irish cuisine that uses local ingredients and traditions and blends them with classic French techniques. The star dish of this dinner was the Dublin Bay prawns in a prawn bisque. My daughter had her very first taste of Foie Gras here, and she immediately loved this version which captured her imagination with the inclusion of chocolate. My personal favorite in the Tea Room was the souffle. I am determined to replicate this delicious dessert very soon and if it works I will definitely be sharing my recipe. (Read the full review of the Tea Room.) Our meal in Thornton's was fabulous. Kevin Thornton is Ireland's celebrity chef and his restaurant is one of the best in Ireland. We really loved all the eight dishes that we had there. Our two favorites were the Foie Gras rolled in truffles and the Wicklow lamb. (Read the full review of Thornton's). The service here was really wonderful and they were incredibly child-friendly. My daughter got her very own tasting menu! Here is her review:
After the Riverdance show, we went to eat at Thornton's. That was a fancy restaurant. And they were very kid-friendly. They brought me yummy bread with special Irish butter. My first dish was chicken terrine with fig jam and it tasted like dessert. Then, I tried Mommy's foie gras rolled in truffles on fresh brioche bread. It tasted a little bit strange but it was really delicious. Next, I tried a [celeriac] soup and the soup tasted yummy and creamy. For my main course, I had truffle risotto and that was the last course. It looked a little bit like a rice tower and I really liked it and I wanted mommy to make one like that at home. That was the best dinner in Ireland.
In September, we visited New York for a long weekend. My daughter was delighted to see the tall buildings and landmarks, and a highlight for her was seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway. We enjoyed several nice meals in the city, including a fine Russian dinner at Firebird, but our best dinner was at Jean Georges. I had really looked forward to this dinner since as I explained above I have both cooked and admired nearly every recipe in his recent cookbooks. We really enjoyed our Autumn Tasting menu, featuring such dishes as Maine Lobster with potato gnocchi and pickles chilies and Nishiki risotto. (Read full review of Jean Georges.) For the remainder of the year, I've enjoyed designing my 5 star foodie website and writing about my recipes and adventures in my new blog. This has been the start of an amazing adventure so far!
What's next? On New Year's Eve, we will re-visit our local 5-star restaurant The Inn at Little Washington. While we have eaten there before, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner experience, we have not yet had a chance to experience Patrick O'Connell's tasting menu, as we now have enjoyed at other 5-star restaurants we have visited. I look forward to his New Year's creations and will share my findings. It should be a wonderful meal!
