A little backstory...and certainly my intuition and interpretation. I believe that there are very few coincidences and that we have a lot more history than we are aware of. It seemed an odd coincidence that my friend Jerry and I were introduced by an old high school buddy of mine. After we became friends it became crystal clear that this was no coincidence. When Jerry and I get a chance to talk food and collaborate on an amazing meal I know that we have known each other for a very long time. He get as obsessed as I do with bringing something exciting to the table and I feel I could talk to him for days about gardening, food, cooking and life.
So every year when we start planning our NYE party, I am like a little kid waiting to see what he is going to create. This year was extra awesome, because I got to help him plate.
Keeping with the cajun/creole theme and his incredible creativity, the appetizer was a festival for the taste buds. I wish I had a recipe, because it was that good. He is iron chef-like and just goes to town creating...which does not include stopping to write things down lest the creative process be hindered.
I do know that the earthy root vegetable cake was created with beets, parsnips, carrots and damn I'm not sure of what finally made it bind. It was truly on the fly. The collards were stuffed with an incredible spicy dirty rice. I could have eaten bowls full of the rice alone. The piquant pepper hit all of the regions of taste buds. It was drizzled with a spicy sweet aioli. The pictures barely do it any justice. His wine pairing of a fruit forward but dry syrah was amazing.
Tell me this isn't a great way to start the night!
