Iron Chef, Dethlab style

It's been a bit of a gluttonous few weeks here at B'lab HQ, with all our entertainment budget going to exquisite meals at Assaggi, Mon Jin Lau, Blue Nile, Vinotecca (where the petite filet, seared ahi, chocolate torte and Grimaldis quality white pizza - I'm not kidding - are to die for,) and one of our new favorites, the aforementioned Slows, but nothing quite like what we've been cooking up at home.

I don't consider cooking to be really much different than design or making music: you have a palette of ingredients, and granted they are of top quality (absolutely essential!), the fun is all in creating interesting combinations and challenging preconceived notions of context and proportion. Although breakfast has always been my specialty and rarely ever make the time to cook a proper dinner, Tuesday night I was fairly pleased with the make-it-up-as-you-go culinary skills:

Fresh ruby red trout fillets rubbed in herbs, sea salt, hickory, spices and olive oil, pan cooked hot and fast, topped with a nectarine ginger chutney with roasted garlic and shallots. Served with four cheese tortellini, topped with a butter cream basil sauce (one part cream to one part butter) and shaved Manchego. A quality, earthy California red (which I know breaks all the rules, but I do not drink white after labor day.)

Dessert consisted of Wensley with cranberries, aged Manchego and a third medium cheese I forget, with raw honey, dijon mustard, lemon curd, 75% cacao pure dark chocolate and espresso.

Not to be outdone, Friday night I was treated to the following by my partner in crime:

Pear-nectar Martinis, Manchego and aged domestic asiago cheese, smoked oysters, warm baguette, olive oil and spices.

Pan-seared, peppered rare ahi tuna with ginger wasabi cream sauce, on a bed of crisp sesame rice cracker, avocado slices, and purple thai rice gently coated in sesame oil and cilantro, with roasted garlic, shallots, young portabello, oyster and chantrelle mushrooms; fresh fig and scallion chutney; eel sauce; wilted baby spinach with garlic, pignoli nuts and piquant lime glaze. Momokawa diamond jumai ginjo sake.

As predicted, this resulted in immediate food coma (hence our lack of social presence Friday evening.)

The ball is back in my court, and I clearly have some catching up to do.
Suggestions welcome.