The Big Farewell Blowout Dinner (Part 1): The Preliminaries

Do you have a cup of coffee? Are you comfortable? Do you have a spare few minutes? This is gonna take a little time...

We bid farewell to our very, very good friends Travis and Maria today as they make their way back to Australia. As fellow lovers, producers and consumers of fine food and drink, we felt it would only be appropriate to undertake the most aggressive single meal ever cooked in our home to give them a proper sendoff.

The preparation took the better part of two days to throw together. It turned out to be worth it. It took me the better part of an hour just to get the recipes put into this blog entry, so you had better read it.

Let's start with the drinks. Vanessa took charge of the booze (as is the norm) and found a 3 drinks which utilize a sugar syrup infused with basil. All three drinks were distinctly different and delicious. Here's the recipe:

COCKTAILS: THREE TIER PUNCH

DRINK 1:

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
2 cups basil leaves
1 (750 ml) bottle dry white wine
2 cups orange juice

DRINK 2:

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup lime juice
2 cups vodka

DRINK 3:

1/2 cup red Italian bitters (recommended: Campari)
1 quart seltzer water

In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil. When the sugar has melted, remove from the heat and add the basil leaves. Let stand until completely cooled, then strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard solids. Refrigerate syrup until ready to use.

DRINK 1: Place 1/4 cup of the chilled syrup, the white wine, and orange juice in a pitcher and stir to combine. Serve chilled.

DRINK 2: To the pitcher add the lemon juice, lime juice, vodka, and an additional 1/2 cup of the basil syrup and stir to blend. Serve over ice.

DRINK 3: To the pitcher add the bitters, seltzer water, and remaining syrup and stir to blend. Serve over ice.

AMUSE BOUCHE: PIMM'S COCKTAIL RAVIOLI WITH CUCUMBER AND MINT SUGAR

I have been playing around with some chemicals lately, in the style of Ferran Adria, widely regarded as the best chef in the world. His restaurant, El Bulli, has been voted best in the world for three years in a row.

He has pioneered, among other things, something called spherical ravioli, which allows you to make spheres of a pureed substance which, with the right science applied, makes a sphere of itself which keeps all of the juice inside. It literally explodes with flavor in your mouth.

I made this one up, using his technique, using the flavors of a Pimm's cocktail to guide the flavor profile. The reaction was positive! To quote Maria "It's just so fun to eat!"

500 g water
2 measures Algin
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and sliced
½ cup sugar syrup, infused with apple
3 tablespoons Pimm's
¼ cup water
1 measure Xanatana
5 measures Gluco
12 leaves mint
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cucumber, cut into very small dice

Dissolve the Algin in the water by mixing it with a hand blender. Leave to rest for 15-25 minutes.

Bring the sugar syrup and Pimm's to a simmer and add the apples. Let this cook for about 20 minutes, so the apples are good and soft. Dump the apples into a tall wide glass (big enough to get a stick blender in).

Add the water and whiz the apples up into a smooth puree. Add the Xanatana and Gluco and whiz to combine thoroughly. Leave this mixture until cool. (NOTE: You could also put the mixture into an ice bath and mix around to cool it faster)

Put the mint and sugar into a mortar and pestle and beat around until combined. Set aside.

Using a syringe, take the puree and shoot enough of it to fill a 15ml spoon. Carefully submerge the spoon holding the puree in the Algin water bath. Hold it there for 5 seconds and gently shake the spoon to release the puree into the bath. It should hold it's shape. Let sit for two minutes, then move to a clean bowl with water in it. Repeat until you have four spheres. (NOTE: The spheres can be held more or less indefinitely in the clean water bowl until ready for use)

Place a Pimm's ravioli into a serving spoon. Top with cucumber dice and mint sugar. Serve.

PRE-STARTER: OYSTERS WITH MINT AND CUCUMBER SALSA

6 fresh oysters
crushed ice, to serve
FOR THE SALSA
30 g finely diced deseeded cucumber
30 g finely chopped red onion
4 tablespoons PONZU (see page 248)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

FOR THE PONZU SAUCE
1 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoons lemon juice
about 1 cm square piece of konbu (see page 257)

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and leave overnight to infuse.
Next day, remove the konbu before use.

FOR THE OYSTERS
Open the oysters (see page 40) and turn each one over in their curved half-shell. Arrange on a bed of crushed ice in a suitable serving dish.

Make the salsa by mixing all the ingredients together.

Spoon a little of the salsa over the top of each oyster and serve immediately

If you like, you can garnish the dish with some carrot and cucumber shavings for added colour, and one or two of the discarded top shells.