Dinner at Fino Austin with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

My inner foodie dreams had come true.  Not only was I going to attend a dinner and cocktail pairing with St. Germain Elderflower liqueur at Fino, but I was also going to provide the dessert.  Chef Jason Donoho and Bill Norris presented a fabulous dinner and cocktail dinner, and Richard Arebalo did a wonderful and thorough write up.  

Two of my favorite dishes from the dinner were the scallop crudo with grapefruit and lavender and the pork belly confit with seared foie gras and julienned apples over smoked potatoes.  The scallop crudo was simply amazing.  With sweet and citrus notes paired with the light fragrance of lavender, the dish was to die for. Yes, I want that as part of my last meals. This dish also inspired me to top grapefruit with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur.  The pork belly confit with foie gras and apples was also intense, rich, and well balanced.  The potatoes were amazing.  As an ordinary root veggie, the potato is usually a filler food, a side dish, something that we generally kick to the back of our minds. Not these potatoes though.  With smokey goodness, Chef Jason's smoked potatoes can hold their own.

The dessert I provided is a very special to me.  I first tried an ispahan cupcake made by Deverah Otten at Cupcake Meetup 2.0 at SXSW 2009.  One bite, and I was in love.  Ispahan is a classic French combination of lychees, raspberry, and rosewater created by Peirre Hermes.  I worked on my tipsy ispahan (boozed up version) recipe for several months only to think "This needs something."  I chatted about my problem with the extremely knowledgeable Bill Norris, and he introduced me to St. Germain.  I'm very honored that I got to share my favorite cupcake at Fino.  The cupcake is Amaretto cake, brushed with rose water, filled with lychees and raspberries, topped with St. Germain Swiss buttercream, and garnished with a fresh rose petal.
A big thank you to Fino_Austin, Chef Jason Donoho, and Bill Norris for having us over for dinner.  A big thank you to Bryan Townsend from St. Germain making it happen.  Don't forget to read Richard's in-depth write up of the dinner. 

Bill preparing the drinks.

Pouring of the first drink.

Delicious snacks.

Bryan Townsend from St. Germain.

Scallop Crudo, grapefruit, and lavender.

Pork Belly confit, foie gras, apples, and smokey potatoes.

Bill teaching us about St. Germain.

Pretty bottle for a lovely drink.

 The Tipsy Ispahan.

Peche - Flaming Orange Peels and Nameless Cocktails

Peche.  Not Lindeman's Peche which is a lovely peach lambic.  Peche. 208 West 4th Street in Austin, TX.  That's the Peche I'm talking about.  For the past four months or so, many of my friends have been urging me to go to Peche.  I was promised that I would have a good time.  I was promised that the drinks were delicious.  And I was promised that there would be entertainment at the bar.  I finally visited Peche, and well, those promises were fulfilled.  The decor of Peche immediately caught my eye.  Check out this chandelier.  This water dispenser is pretty neat.  It's several feet tall, and it sits right at the edge of the bar behind the hostess. Fresh berries at the bar.  Good to see that fresh fruit and herbs are used here. Rosemary and mint.  If you haven't seen this before, it's flaming an orange peel.  The fire releases the essential oils in the orange into the drink.  I've tried capturing this neat trick on camera before many times, but it happens really quickly.  I finally got it this time.  In the photo above, you'll see the light from the fire shining from behind the orange peel.  That is the orange peel flaming for a split second.  You can literally see the essential oils from the peel coming out. Check out this video for some more photos of Flamed Orange Peels.  The first time I went to Peche, I happened to have some Tipsy Ispahan Cupcakes with me.  To go along with the cupcakes, Russell at the bar decided to make a drink to pair with the cupcakes.  Let's just say that the drink was fabulous!  Here's the recipe, but unfortunately, it doesn't have a name.  Name suggestions will be taken.  I want something original, creative, and fitting.  There may be a reward to whoever comes up with a fitting name for this drink.  The Nameless Cocktail  ¾ oz Bombay Gin ¾ oz St Germain ½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice ¼ oz Simple Syrup 1/8 oz (barspoon) Rose Syrup Shake and Strain into a chilled martini glass and top with 2 oz Champagne.  Garnish with a floating rose pedal. As person who works with beers, spirits, and wine in the kitchen, I'm often asked are my favorite beers, spirits, and wines.  I asked Russell what his favorite spirits were and why.  In less than 10 seconds, these 5 bottles appeared on the bar. Starting from the left, here's Russell's favorites and why. Dulce Vida is organic, made in Austin, 100 proof, and has amazing flavor.  The St. Germain was easy.  What is not to like about St. Germain?  It's also one of my favorites as well.  The subtle fruity and floral notes are perfectly balanced.  Russell sometimes substitutes St. Germain for simple syrup to give drinks that extra dimension.  Pierre Ferrand Cognac is comes from a single vineyard, and he calls it the original whiskey.  St. George Absinthe is up next, and the flavors in it are amazing and complex.  And lastly, Rumple Minze is like an old friend that Russell loves from his previous bartending days.