International Gnocchi Party: Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Nori Butter

Today's special International Gnocchi Party hosted by Penny at Jeroxie.com features hand-made gnocchi with umami flavors. I am bringing these delicious Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Nori Butter. The hints of umami flavors from marinating the sweet potatoes in a mixture of soy, miso, sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, and wild porcini salt are fabulous in the combination of naturally sweet flavors of sweet potatoes. The real umami flavor comes in with the nori butter which is just amazing.


Ingredients: (2 servings)

1 large sweet potato (about 1lb), peeled, cut into cubes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon wild porcini salt
3/4 cup flour
1 egg
Pinch of salt
2-3 nori sheets
2 sticks butter or butter substitute

Directions:

Combine balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, miso, brown sugar, sesame oil and wild porcini salt. Whisk until the mixture is completely smooth. In a plastic bag place the sweet potato cubes and pour the marinade in. Shake gently, seal, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Discard from marinade. Roast for 20-25 minutes on 425°F or until soft. Cool a little and then process through the foodmill or a food grinder.

Place the potatoes on a board and make a well in the center. Sprinkle flour and break the egg in the middle. Add salt. Stir the flour and potatoes using a fork and mixing the egg in. Then knead the dough gently with your hands to form a ball. Sprinkle with a little more flour if necessary. Divide the dough in small balls. Roll each into a thin "rope". Slice into 1-inch pieces and flick them with a fork.

Boil water in a large pot to boil. Salt and add the gnocchi. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the gnocchi float to the top. Drain gently and serve, pouring nori butter sauce all over.

For nori butter: Grind nori sheets into powder in a spice grinder. Cut the butter into pieces and melt until foamy and golden. Whisk in 1 or 2 teaspoon (to taste) of nori powder (reserving the rest of the powder for later use).

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CHECK OUT WHAT EVERYONE ELSE BROUGHT TO THE GNOCCHI PARTY!

Host: Jeroxie (Addictive & Consuming)

Guests:

Divina - Sense & Serendipity

Christine – Christine’s Recipes

Mardi – Eat, Live, Travel, Write

Trix – Tasty Trix

Mellie – Tummy Rumbles

Conor – Hold the Beef

Agnes – Off the spork

Shirley – Enriching your kid

Ozoz – Kitchen Butterfly

Natasha – Five Star Foodie

February Fennel Pollen Friday: Fennel Pollen Pot de Creme

In the final recipe of the fennel pollen trilogy, I explore the sweeter side of this aromatic spice with fennel pollen scented custards, or pot de creme. The flavor of the pot de creme with fennel pollen is fantastic, making it a delightful little dessert.

GO TO MARX FOODS FOR MORE DETAILS AND A RECIPE!

Ingredients: (4 miniature cup servings)

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon fennel pollen
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

To a small saucepan, add milk and fennel pollen. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Mix in a blender/food processor and strain.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is thick and smooth. Beat the eggs into the warm fennel pollen milk, whisking constantly. Pour into espresso cups or small custard cups. Place the cups in a baking dish and fill with water half-way up to the cups. Place baking pan with cups on middle rack in oven. Cover with foil and bake on 350° until custards are set around edges but still slightly wobbly in centers, 20 to 25 minutes. If still not done, remove the foil and cook for a little bit more until the custards reach the desired consistency.

Transfer the cups to a rack to cool completely, uncovered. Chill, covered, at least 3 hours or overnight.

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The winners of the Fiber One Muffins Giveaway are Velva @ Tomatoes on the Vine, Shahana @ ABC of Cooking, Susan B, Joanne @ Apple Crumbles (randomly selected using random.org)! To receive your coupon, please send me your mailing address here or natasha@5starfoodie.com . Thank you all for participating and especially for filling out my survey!

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5 Star Makeover Reminder: The deadline for this month's 5 Star Makeover Mousse Challenge is this Sunday night! Please check the original announcement for more details. If you recently made a mousse, you can just send me a link to your post and I will include it in the roundup.

Persephone's Tears

Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was so lovely that even Hades, the god of the Underworld, noticed her and fell in love with her. Hades kidnapped Persephone and took her to the underworld where he made her his queen. As her mother Demeter, the goddess of harvest, grieved, the earth grew cold and winter came. When she discovered who had taken her, Demeter ran to Zeus, who agreed that mother and daughter should not be parted forever. However, before Persephone returned to the surface, she grew hungry and ate a few kernels from a delicious pomegranate fruit. Having tasted the fruit of the Underworld, she now had to remain there, though as a final compromise, Zeus ruled that every year Persephone would spend one month in the underworld for each of the pomegranate seeds she had eaten.

As this long Winter lingers, Persephone is still in tears as she spends her last few weeks in the Underworld before a joyful reunion with her mother Demeter this Spring.



Persephone's Tears

Ingredients:

1/2 cup POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon agar agar powder (or flakes ground into powder)
About 2 cups olive oil

Directions:

Pour olive oil into a bowl and place it in a freezer for about 10 minutes to chill it.

Meanwhile, mix 1/2 cup of pomegranate juice with 1 teaspoon of agar agar in an small pot and bring the mixture to boil. Simmer the pomegranate mixture for 5 minutes or until the agar is completely dissolved. Take the mixture off the heat and place in the refrigerator for just one or two minutes to cool. Whisk the pomegranate mixture, making sure it is smooth.



Using a syringe, carefully dispense the drops of the pomegranate mixture into the chilled olive oil. You'll have to work quickly to get all the drops in the oil before the POM mixture starts to gel.



After a few minutes, take them out, being careful not to break, gently rinse them in a bowl of water, and pat dry with a paper towel.



The pomegranate "tears" have a texture of caviar, with a thin "membrane" popping in your mouth and bursting with the delicious tart flavors of the liquid juice inside. They are wonderful on top of vanilla ice cream but could also be served with savory dishes.

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Food is my art medium and I love to express myself through creating artistic presentations and new and unique recipes. Combining simple ingredients in a complex way to make something new and exciting is a lot of fun. Persephone's Tears is a fun, unique, creative, and mysterious dish inspired by my love of history, culture, and literature. I would like to submit Persephone's Tears to Sophia's “You Are What You Cook” Challenge at Burp and Slurp.



Thank you to Pom Wonderful for the samples of their delicious and healthy pomegranate juice that inspired me to make this special creation.

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Giveaway Reminder: Today and tomorrow are the last days to enter the Fiber One Blueberry Muffins Giveaway, the winners will be announced Friday!

5 Star Makeover Reminder: This month's 5 Star Makeover Challenge is to create a MOUSSE with a twist! Please check the original announcement for more details. If you recently made a mousse, you can just send me a link to your post and I will include it in the roundup.

Jerk Chicken with Uniq-Corn Salsa and Fried Plantains

Jamaica is the stop of this week's Culinary Tour 2010, and I'm excited to share one of our favorites, Jerk Chicken and Fried Plantains. This dish has been in my recipe collection for a while, but this time I introduced a new addition, the Uniq-Corn Salsa. This simple and refreshing salsa is made with a uniq fruit, also called ugli fruit, which actually comes from Jamaica.



It is a cross between a mandarin orange and a pomelo and has a juicy sweet citrus flavor. It was excellent paired with corn and complimented the spicy Jerk chicken very nicely.



Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons rum
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 boneless chicken breast halves

2 green plantains
1 tablespoon salt
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 uniq fruit, peeled, all white parts/skin removed, sliced in chunks
1 cup cooked white corn kernels
2 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix first 11 ingredients in a food processor to make a marinade. Place the marinade along with the chicken in a plastic bag and marinade for at least an hour or overnight. Grill the chicken for about 4-5 minutes per side.

In a bowl, mix uniq fruit slices, corn, green onions, and extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, cut the plantains into thin rounds and sprinkle with salt.
Heat the skillet with olive oil over the high heat and fry the plantains until golden brown on both sides. Serve jerk chicken topped with uniq-corn salsa along with fried plantains.

Fiber One Blueberry Muffins Review and Giveaway

I love muffins for breakfast but I rarely get up early enough to bake them in the morning. Typically, I want an easy and healthy quick bite that wouldn't take me more than five minutes to prepare. Cereal or granola bars are usually the weekday breakfast of my choice, but recently I was also happy to discover a new product, Fiber One™ Frozen Muffins.

These muffins are individually wrapped and can be ready to eat on the go when thawed or heated in the microwave for a warm delight. The muffins are available in both Blueberry and Banana Chocolate Chip flavors. These muffins are tasty and nutritious, providing 28% of your daily fiber.



In addition of sending me the information and the product samples, Fiber One™ also sent me four coupons for my readers to try these muffins. Please leave me a comment about your current favorite breakfast choice. Another way to enter or for extra entries, leave a comment to let me know that you've completed the survey 'About 5 Star Foodie Readers'. Please submit all comments by Thursday, February 25, and I will announce the winners the following day. There will be four winners to receive one coupon each. Although I can send the coupons anywhere, the product may not be available outside USA. My international readers can participate to send a gift sample to someone, a relative or a foodie friend, residing in US.

I would really appreciate everyone's responses in this survey regardless of the participation in a giveaway. The survey is completely anonymous and collected for the purpose of the future content of the blog.

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5 Star Makeover Reminder: This month's 5 Star Makeover Challenge is to create a MOUSSE with a twist! Please check the original announcement for more details.

February Fennel Pollen Friday: Seared Bay Scallops with Fennel Pollen Air

Culinary foams help to concentrate a lot of flavor in just a spoonful of this magical air and a foam made with already intense fennel pollen is incredibly flavorful. Adding the fennel pollen air foam to the seared scallops changes this simple dish into an excellent seafood course that could be part of a tasting menu in a 5-star restaurant.

GO TO MARX FOODS FOR MORE DETAILS AND A RECIPE!

Ingredients: (makes 4 tasting portions)

2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cup small Bay scallops
Coarse salt to taste
Chives (optional)

1/2 cup stock
1 teaspoon lecithin
1 teaspoon fennel pollen

Directions:

Melt butter in a skillet until foamy. Rinse the scallops and pat them dry. Sprinkle with salt. Sear the scallops for 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown.

Meanwhile, add stock, lecithin, and fennel pollen into a mixing cup. Blend with immersion blender until the foam form. Let it stand for a few minutes and then scoop just the air form and gently place on top of the scallops. Garnish with chives if desired.

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5 Star Makeover Reminder: This month's 5 Star Makeover Challenge is to create a MOUSSE with a twist! Please check the original announcement for more details.

Fernet-Branca, the Miracle Drink

Have you heard of Fernet-Branca? Fernet is an amaro (bitter drink) a variety of Italian herbal liqueur. Fernet-Branca is an Italian brand of Fernet made by the Fratelli Branca distillery. This special concoction is made according a secret recipe, created back in the mid 19th century. This bitter liqueur contains numerous herbs, some of which may include myrrh, peppermint oil, chamomile, cardamom, and saffron. It is commonly drunk as an after-dinner digestif or can be mixed into cocktails or coffee.



If you had too much to eat or drink during the last few days with the Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday parties, you could definitely use Fernet-Branca. Many claim that it is the best cure for hangover.

Chef Fergus Henderson, a British chef and a founder of St. John Restaurant, has a special recipe he calls "A Miracle" that combines two parts of Fernet-Branca with one part crème de menthe over ice. This cocktail can be used to cure overindulgence, both in eating or drinking.



I have experienced the effects of this Miracle cocktail first hand, and I have to say that it truly does work like magic. Chef Fergus Henderson has influenced and inspired many young chefs, including one of our favorites, Tarver King, who was Head Chef at the 5-Star Dining Room at Woodlands in Summerville, South Carolina, at the time we visited it, about three and a half years ago.

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It was my 30th birthday, September 2006, and we had a very special Chef's table dinner at the Dining Room at Woodlands. Being seated right in the kitchen, we had a chance to to participate in a personalized interaction between our chef, sommelier, and the rest of the team. It was a fantastic experience! Of course, the food was incredible. We had 14 courses total and, I think, because we were at the Chef's table, the portions were quite a bit more generous than the regular small tasting portions at the restaurants of this level.

The 14 courses comprised: an amuse bouche; a "Crispy" Carpaccio of Local Swordfish; "Ice Cubes" of crunchy iceberg lettuce with Colston Bassett cheese, buttermilk emulsion, and smoked salt; Spanish White Gazpacho with almond sorbet and banyuls vinegar; "Omelet" of San Marzano Tomato and Vidalia Onion Hollandaise; "Caramelized" Diver Scallops with finocchiona, lemon vinaigrette, parsnip butter, and radicchio, Tomato Tart Tatin with Maine Lobster and roasted olive "Aigre-Doux" and arugula; Seared Hognose Snapper with Moromi butter, Carolina gold rice, and "hot and sour" eggplant; Seared Foie Gras with chic pea "Panise", Bosc pear, and Guanciale vinaigrette; Hay Smoked Maple Leaf Duckling; Snake River Kobe Beef with Pomme Gateau and Sauce "Choron"; Chevre de Chaput with roasted beets and Fire Fly Vodka Gelee; Minted Fruit Broth; and Poppyseed Chiffon Cake with strawberry-bergamot panna cotta and vanilla yogurt sorbet.

The lobster, poached in butter "at the last minute" was the best we've ever had. It was also the most generous portion of lobster we ever had anywhere. By the time the duck was served, we were feeling very full and we were only about halfway done with our meal. I especially was so full I started to feel a little faint.

Thankfully, Tarver made us the Miracle drink consisting of Ferne-Branca, that he learned from Chef Fergus Henderson during his time in London. I was a little skeptical that this drink with minty and mysterious refreshing taste would actually work. However, literally two minutes after I finished the cocktail, I felt absolutely fine and even kind of hungry. We were able to finish our dinner including desserts and did not even feel too full at the end. The miracle drink really did work!

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I was very happy to receive the samples of Fernet-Branca recently and to discover that I can purchase it at my local liquor store. When served "neat", Fernet-Branca tastes medicinal and somewhat bitter, reminiscent of herbal liqueurs like Killepitsch. However, its effects can best be enjoyed in cocktail form, and the "Miracle" cocktail combining two parts of Fernet-Branca with one part crème de menthe over ice is both refreshing and really works as a cure for over indulgence!

Breakfast from Colombia: Pan de Yuca and Chocolate en Leche de Coco

This week, as part of the virtual Culinary Tour 2010, we travel to Colombia. I wanted to make some traditional specialties from this country and could think of no other source for the best authentic Colombian recipes than my friend Erica's excellent blog My Colombian Recipes. She has a lot of delicious recipes that I've bookmarked over the past year. As I was going to be preparing the Colombian specialties for Valentine's Day breakfast, I chose to make Pan de Yuca, a traditional Colombian bread made with yuca flour and cheese.



These yuca cheese breads turned out perfectly light, puffy, and absolutely scrumptious!


Recipe for Pan de Yuca - Colombian Yuca Bread

To accompany the yuca bread, I also made Erica's Chocolate en Leche de Coco, a heavenly Colombian-style hot chocolate prepared with coconut milk.


Recipe for Chocolate en Leche de Coco - Hot Chocolate in Coconut Milk

It was a very special and delicious breakfast! Thank you, Erica, for these excellent recipes!

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5 Star Makeover Reminder: This month's 5 Star Makeover Challenge is to create a MOUSSE with a twist! Please check the original announcement for more details.

Lemon Zest Crusted Cod with Horseradish Emulsion and Sweet Grapes

This simple dish features fresh wild caught cod fillets, coated with a mixture of breadcrumbs and lemon zest and pan-fried, resulting in a light and crispy crust with a lovely lemony taste. A horseradish emulsion added a touch of tangy flavor and complimented the cod very nicely. I served this cod with sweet grapes, a side dish that I first made with flounder, and it is also great with poultry, veal or pork. My family thought in this preparation the grapes actually tasted like cherries, and, they really liked the combination of flavors.



Ingredients: (2-4 servings)

Vegetable oil
1 cod fillet (about 0.8 pound), cut in 4 equal portions
1 egg, beaten (optional)
1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
Coarsely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon
Salt, pepper to taste

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon horseradish
1 teaspoon lecithin
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a skillet. Mix panko breadcrumbs with lemon zest (saving a few lemon zest pieces for presentation), salt, and pepper in a shallow container or a plate. Dip cod pieces into egg (optional), and coat with lemon zest breadcrumbs. Fry cod for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a mixing cup, combine lemon juice, horseradish, and lecithin. Mix with immersion blender. Continue to mix and pour the extra virgin olive oil in a slow stream, until the mixture is thick, white, and foamy. Season to taste.

Top lemon zest crusted cod with a few remaining lemon zest pieces and horseradish emulsion.



Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3 cups red seedless grapes
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of finely grated lemon zest
Salt, pepper
Parsley, shopped

Directions:

Melt butter in a skillet on a high heat. Add grapes and lemon zest and saute, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with a little bit of parsley.

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I am sending the Lemon Zest Crusted Cod with Horseradish Emulsion for this week's BSI hosted by Mardi at Eat. Live. Travel. Write. where the featured ingredient is lemon zest.

I also would like to submit the Sweet Grapes for Reeni's Side Dish Showdown at Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.

February Fennel Pollen Friday: Cauliflower Fennel Pollen Bisque

Fennel pollen is a fragrant spice with a mysterious flavor, reminiscent of fennel seeds but sweeter, a lot more aromatic and potent. Fennel pollen is collected from the flowers of the fennel plant that grows wild on the sunny inland and coastal fields of California. The flowers are are collected at the peak of bloom and carefully dried and screened for the pollen. It takes many fennel flowers to produce a small amount of the pollen, making this spice almost as expensive as saffron. However, only a small pinch of fennel pollen is required to add an intriguing and intense aromatic dimension of flavor to to seafood, meat, or vegetables.

On Fridays in February, I will explore this aromatic spice in three different dishes, guest posting on Marx Foods, an online store where you can get fennel pollen and many other excellent gourmet products.

Today's recipe shows how the addition of fennel pollen can enhance the taste of cauliflower in a creamy and deliciously aromatic bisque.

GO TO MARX FOODS FOR MORE DETAILS AND A RECIPE!

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Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!

5 Star Makeover: Mousse

With Valentine's Day approaching this weekend, I am thinking of desserts, particularly chocolate. I wanted to make a lightened up dark chocolate mousse, just like my friend Faith at An Edible Mosaic, in her recent post with Greek yogurt and good quality chocolate. However, there was a snow storm outside, and I did not have my favorite fat-free Oikos Greek yogurt or any kind of chocolate.

I found a can of fat-free condensed milk, a banana, and cute little chocolate cups that a friend gave me as a holiday gift. With these discoveries, a mousse makeover was born. I've combined condensed milk, banana, some cardamom and Mexican vanilla, and then folded some whipped egg whites. After chilling, these were absolutely perfect little desserts: light and airy and the combination of cardamom and vanilla flavors was just lovely.

Banana Air Mousse with Cardamom and Vanilla

Ingredients:

1 banana
1/4 cup condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 large egg white
10-12 miniature chocolate cups, or 4 espresso cups

Directions:

In a mixing cup, place condensed milk, banana, vanilla and cardamom. Blend with immersion blender. Whip the egg white until soft peaks form, then fold the egg whites gently into the banana mixture.

Divide equally between chocolate cups (or espresso cups or other containers) and chill for at least 8 hours or overnight (as a time saver, you can chill the mousse in the refrigerator for as long as you can and then place them in a freezer for a few minutes to chill quickly or freeze for a longer period of time to make a frozen mousse).

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This month's 5 Star Makeover Challenge is to create a MOUSSE with a twist (such as modern, healthy, fusion, molecular gastronomy, seasonal, or adapting to a particular cuisine style). You can create all kinds of versions of mousse in all shapes and sizes, sweet or savory, with any kinds of ingredients mixed in, inspired by any number of cuisines of the world. You can also incorporate a mousse into dishes such as cakes.

To participate, please post about your creation mentioning "5 Star Makeover" and linking to this post or you can copy and paste this code to insert the new 5 Star Makeover logo as follows:

<a href="http://www.fivestarfoodie.com/2010/02/5-star-makeover-mousse.html"><img src="http://5starfoodie.com/images/makeover0210.jpg" width="110"></a>

Then, send me an email at natasha@5starfoodie.com or leave a comment here with a link to your blog post. If you've made a mousse recently and already posted about it, just send a link to your post! Please send your entries by Sunday, February 28. The round-up will be posted on Monday, March 1.

5 Star Restaurant Review: Addison

Addison is a fine-dining restaurant located in the luxurious Grand Del Mar resort in San Diego, California. The restaurant won the immediate attention of diners and food critics with its opening in 2006. Since 2009 it has achieved 5 star Forbes Travel Guide award status, placing it in rare company as one of the top restaurants in the country.



The Grand Del Mar resort is gorgeous, with an impressive and posh architecture inspired by the famous designer Addison Mizner, after whom the restaurant is actually named. The spacious Addison dining room features high ceilings, inlaid limestone and marble flooring, beautifully framed windows overlooking an attractive resort view, and a formal yet comfortable dining atmosphere. The service is impeccable with attention to every detail.

The well-managed Addison kitchen is led by highly talented Chef William Bradley. A San Diego native, Chef Bradley worked under Chef James Boyce at Azzura Point at Loews Coronado Bay and as Boyce's sous chef at Mary Elaine's in Arizona. Prior to Addison, Chef Bradley was executive chef at at the critically acclaimed Vu restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa.

Chef William Bradley features modern French cuisine with an artisanal approach involving local ingredients and fresh flavors. Chef Bradley's culinary philosophy of simplicity, with a focus on basic flavors and quality choice ingredients shines through. Thematically, no more than three primary flavors are featured prominently in each course, and everything is executed to perfection with masterful touches by the chef.

Diners are invited to make their choice of a three or four course menu, or opt for a seven course surprise Carte Blanche menu. We chose to sample the seven course Carte Blanche menu, accompanied by an excellent Failla Occidental Ridge Pinot Noir wine recommended by sommelier Jesse Rodriguez, formerly of The French Laundry. This wine is one of the best pinot noir labels from Sonoma, California. Full bodied, with plenty of red cherry fruit and yet balanced with earthy truffle and subtle spice, it paired nicely with the courses to follow.



Our evening dinner began with a refreshing Verjus Consommé, comprised of basil, pickled cranberries, and mozzarella crème fraiche. The combination of sweet and tart bright flavors "woke up" our senses in preparation for the rest of the meal.



Next arrived warm gougères with mascarpone cream, a delicious little savory bite.



We were also offered two kinds of brioche: lemon-scented and fler de sel, accompanied by an excellent local home-churned butter.



Our first course was La Fruit de Mer, featuring a perfectly seared scallop, a tender and buttery shrimp, and a delicate salty sea urchin with a generous dollop of golden osetra caviar. Lightly sweetened sauce vermouth was a lovely accompaniment to bring out the flavors of the shellfish.



The main fish course was Butter Baked Wild Salmon, simply amazing in preparation and execution. The wild Scottish salmon was prepared with a light butter and fennel pollen crust accompanied by a very light, green olive oil emulsion, with just the right touch of acid to bring out the delicate flavors of the salmon. On the other side of the dish was a bouillabaisse a la provencale consisting of a delicious broth and an incredibly flavorful combination of mussels and olives.



Licorice Glazed Endive featured a lovely combination of sweet flavors and textures with a creamy mushroom sauce, crunchy sesame seed tuile, and fig jam.



Next, our meat course was Confit Porc Salé, a "melt-in-your-mouth", deliciously sinful pork belly, perhaps the best we've ever had. Served with a heavenly light potato purée and périgord black truffles, this seemingly simple dish was our favorite of the night.



The artisan cheese course featured five different and well-balanced cheeses: Gruyere and Cheddar from Wisconsin, Camembert from France, Fog Light goat's milk cheese from California, and Stilton from England. This plate covered a satisfactory spectrum of flavors and regions, where the local goat cheese stood out as a nice touch among other largely standard offerings.



A pre-dessert of raspberry sorbet and apple cider granite was delightful and highly refreshing.



For our main dessert, we enjoyed a peanut butter and chocolate terrine with amaretto ice cream, a great end to a delicious meal.



Finally, our last sweet taste of the night was a fresh and pleasant peppermint patty miniature tart.



After dinner, we had a chance to meet Chef William Bradley and enjoyed a quick tour of the kitchen, making our evening even more special. We were very impressed with the focused and masterful techniques that succeeded in evoking winning flavors in this meal. Our dinner at Addison was excellent, highlighting that a talented chef with perfect execution of basic fresh flavors can provide for a wonderful experience well worth mention among the top restaurants in the United States.

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Here's also my daughter's review of her meal:

Tonight, we had dinner at Addison. It was a fancy restaurant and I got to wear a beautiful dress. First, I had a surprise from the chef that was cream and cranberries and basil. It was yummy: sweet and tart and sour at the same time. Then, I tried a cheese puff and it was delicious and cheesy and it was savory.

Next, I had a butternut squash cubes with apple jam and crispy shallots. It was delicious and I really liked the crispy shallots. It was my favorite course.


Butternut Squash “RÔTI”

For my main course I had salmon with jam and a salmon cake and it was yummy.


Salt-Roasted Salmon, candied capers and smoked salmon “croque monsieur”

For dessert, I had a raspberry sorbet and cake with ice cream. After dinner, I met the chef and got to see the kitchen. I took a picture with the chef too! Addison is my favorite fancy restaurant!

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We have now enjoyed dining at 12 of the Forbes Travel Guide rated 5-star restaurants. To see how Addison compares with the other 5-star restaurants, please check out my 5 Star Rating page.