New Menus

We started work this week on a spring menu for a restaurant in Montreal. The process of writing a new and seasonal menu is so challenging. We look at the same ingredients every year and try to keep them interesting to both the customer and ourselves. We think dredge up all the recent ideas and things we find interesting and write it all down. At this point I stand back and look at and think, "that's it?" What about the lamb, the morels, the fava beans, the pork belly, the zucchini, the artichokes? Oh my god the artichokes. Oh boy.

There are a few specific reasons for the seasonal defectiveness of some ingredients. However, most of these dishes need some spring-ification. Here is the brainstorm process:

mosaic of lightly-cured salmon and avocado
quail egg, horseradish, gazpacho sorbet

sauteed veal sweetbreads
spring peas, saba, bacon vinaigrette

rabbit terrine
pickled ramps

hot and cold or swirl of asparagus soups
shaved crudites, parma ham (crisped)

ravioli of braised lamb/wild boar and swiss chard
reconstituted raisins, crispy chard, golden raisin puree (cumin, tumeric)

pork cheeks braised in milk and honey
fennel pollen, shaved fennel salad, lavender, lemon vinaigrette

(Soup)
cockles, sauteed garlic scapes, wild mushrooms

hot and cold foie gras

Mains

braised beef cheek/short rib (brined and cooked at 56C for 72 hours)
rhubarb puree, madeira-coffee jus, asparagus, potato fondant

bacon-wrapped monkfish
ragout of white beans, tomato confit, "sauce bordelaise"

butter-poached lobster
golden beet puree, sauteed spinach, chorizo emulsion

tea-smoked duck breast
(or poached in french toast stock)
pain perdue, black olive caramel, pickled daikon

terrine of squab breast
chicken liver, tellicherry-currant coulis