A weekend like no other (part iii)

I know I left my last post on a rather ominous note. Now the great suspense is over, hah. So you see, I wish I had had six stomachs to prepare me for Saturday night. I had the immense privilege of attending a dinner in Staten Island at the welcoming home of a Mouthfuls forum member who enjoys entertaining guests. While we were warned in advance to come hungry, very hungry, we did not quite comprehend the gravity of that statement until we saw for ourselves.

Six people, five hours, six bottles of wine (two older than me :P), courses so numerous (and LARGE) I could no longer keep a count straight in my head, and two kickass desserts that I demolished anyway.

Things I do remember (in order of pictures): chicken meatballs & spoonful of soba noodles with sesame oil, red lentil soup with a kick & crab in a fried dough & some white soup, sophisticated buttermilk chicken fingers & potato wedges, avocado mousse stacked with smoked salmon & papaya & mashed potato chips, softshell crab & corn tamale & jumbo shrimp, foie gras dumplings & a 90-minute poached egg (possibly the richest dish I have ever experienced), grilled pork loin with apples & bacon & sauerkraut on a bed of potato pancake, chocolate mousse two ways, sweet corn ice cream with dried strawberries and a blackberry jello cube. :-O I know, right?!

Is this not mind-boggling and an insane amount of food? Still, it was such a pleasure to be served like this and I won't forget what a rare and unique opportunity this was. It was a real, intimate chef's counter experience, and the crazy thing is that this guy isn't a professional chef. Rich, you can definitely quit your day job! :P

And yes, that is an Emmy! It is a beaut and I held it and grinned like an idiot.

There are way too many exclamations in this post, but it is fitting for how I remember this night in my mind.