Miso salmon; potato bake; fennel, apple and herb salad
Miso, soy sauce, mirin marinated salmon. Slivers of potato and butter stacked, baked and compressed. This dish did NOT work with a Fromm Vineyard Pinot Noir 2004, but perhaps that’s not a total reflect on the pairing, since the wine was pretty poor itself IMO.
Chinese pork belly; baked onion and beets, balsamic glaze, fennel; onion caramel Sherry sauce
A root veg theme. Onion blanched briefly before a quick pan-browning and then baking. Sauce was onion juice and caramel with some Sherry (beware the power of the fresh shallot, though).
Poached pear, ginger orange honey sauce
Red wine poached. Powdered vanilla sugar down one side, powdered black pepper down the other. Nice combo.