Nori-Wrapped Scallop, Cauliflower, Ras el Hanout
This is one of the selections on tonight's pre-fixe dinner for Mother's Day. Michelle, our pastry chef, reminded me of a moment we had in NYC. We were in the kitchen of Lincoln Restaurant prepping our dish for the James Beard Awards reception, making the Greek Yogurt with Five Spice, Cardamom, Hoisin and Sriracha. I stopped with the process and said to her, "I think this is enough for the NYC tastebuds, what do you think?" Her reply was, "Do the Alan Wong thing." I said back, "What is that, the Alan Wong thing?" She said, "Make this taste like how you normally make it taste for you, that’s what you do."
I took a step back in my head. I really appreciated that comment, not only to improve the sauce I was making, but to be reminded --by someone whom I had a hand in training and grooming -- not to over think, but to go with my natural instincts and strengths. It was truly a moment.
This afternoon while tasting the dishes for tonight's dinner, she reminded me of that moment. It will come in handy this week as we work on the menus for Watabe Wedding Company for 2013. Menu development this whole week.
~AW