Format Change

Just a quick note. Instead of posting our recipes and reflections as their own posts, we've put them all on a tab up top (we'll leave it to you to figure out which tab it is...)

Also, when browsing through the pictures (which we highly recommend clicking on for beautiful close-ups) and menus, there will be links that will jump directly to the specific recipe of interest on said tab. Yea, we're learning some fancy blog stuff.

Sorry to Pastastic Matt, whose comment got deleted in this change. We couldn't figure out how to move it to the new settings. Chocolate pesto intrigues.

LJ

Next Dinner: "Iron Chef"

For our next dinner, on Saturday April 3rd, we've decided to go in a new direction. We're abandoning the cultural theme and doing a sort of quasi-"Iron Chef" theme. What does this mean for you? You, the diners, will, along with your reservation, e-mail us ONE ingredient* that you want us to use in the dinner. And we will incorporate it in a creative and hopefully (definitely) delicious way. We are now accepting TEN reservations per dinner, so this means we'll have TEN random ingredients to work with. Plus whatever else we get to keep them company. So...make your reservation today! It'll fill up quickly!

*Nothing too weird, too expensive, or meat-based. Please. If you think your ingredient might be one of these things you can send one safer bet.

EXAMPLE:

Dear Jared and Luke,

My name is J****n L***h and I love to eat white truffles. I could eat them by the pound. I would like to reserve a spot at your Iron Chef dinner and my ingredient is white truffles. As a backup, my second favorite thing to eat is shark fin. Bye now.

Love,

J****n

SAMPLE RESPONSE:

Dear Mr. L***h,

You may not attend our dinner.

Best,

Jared and Luke

SEE YOU ALL THERE!!!

3.06.10 -- Italian

Click on pictures for closeups, and names to jump to the recipe.


Homemade crostini with rosemary-grape jam

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Radicchio, arugula, wine-soaked raisins, almonds, ricotta salata, sherry-balsamic vinaigrette



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Baked stuffed lemons & chive arancini with chili-infused olive oil



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Homemade beet & ricotta ravioli with swiss chard pesto

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Homemade dark nutella and caramelized banana panini. Shot of espresso-amaretto milkshake.



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Before the salad course, Luke briefly died, appeared in the dining room to serve the salad as a ghost, then came back to life and continued the dinner as a living, breathing, human. This stunning photograph captures that part of the dinner. Look closely.

The evening's guests with the chefs

Photos courtesy of Catherine Nakajima and Shaheen Lavie-Rouse.

2.20.10 -- Mexican

Click on the pictures for close-ups and on the names for recipes.

fritas de tortilla cortadas por mano con salsas caseras

hand-cut tortilla chips with homemade salsas

Left: Chile de Arbol

Right: Pineapple Habanero

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"sopa de tortilla"

"tortilla soup"

semi hollowed-out avocado dredged in crushed roasted pumpkin seeds and tortilla, filled with a mixture of toasted guajillo chile, diced tomato, queso fresco, and tortilla strips

presentation idea inspired by luxirare

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enchiladas de huitlacoche, hongos, y cebolla caramelizada con frijoles negros y salsa de tomatillo. crema de achiote.

huitlacoche, mushroom, and caramelized onion enchiladas with refried black beans and tomatillo salsa. annatto seed sour cream.

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flan margarita, chocolate mexicano con crema de coco hervido

"margarita" flan, mexican hot chocolate with whipped coconut cream

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"chile relleno" con chocolate, trago de horchata congelada

chile relleno with chocolate, shot of horchata "slushie."

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los chef borrachos con huespedes contentos

chefs and their content guests

photos courtesy of Kristen Collins and Jessica Bal

Next Dinner

Our next dinner will be Saturday, March 6 at 6:30pm sharp. The theme is Italian.

If you are interested in joining us, please send us an email (check the "reservations" tab above for instructions/details). The cost for the five courses plus wine is $20.

Thank you,

Jared Olkin and Luke Pyenson

Reservation Guidelines

We've had a few questions about how to reserve, and if prior guests can return, so here are a few quick notes about our reservation policy:

1) Dinners are open to anyone, although guests tend to be college- or post-college aged

2) Reservations are made on a first-come, first-served basis, and are only confirmed once we receive an email from you and you receive a confirmation email back from us

3) If you have already attended one of our dinners and would like to attend another, you are more than welcome to do so. We will, however, give preference to those who have not already been. If a dinner does not fill up or a space opens last minute, though, we will start at the top of the list, so do still send an email early if you are interested. This also helps us gauge interest and determine how often to hold the dinners (at the time of this writing, we are doing them about every two weeks, but are considering doing them every week if we can).

Hope that clears things up!

Next Dinner

Our next dinner will be Saturday, February 20 at 6:30pm sharp. The theme is Mexican.

If you are interested in joining us, please send an email to 76reservations@gmail.com. The cost for the five courses plus wine is $20.

Thank you,

Jared Olkin and Luke Pyenson


*if you have any food allergies, please let us know in your e-mail and we will accommodate you to the best of our abilities.