The Culinary Arts Department held an Alice Waters restaurant-style five-course dinner that featured a combination of deliciousness and neglect.
The first course was a great combination of a lentil salad and trout fillet with two types of lentils and cherry vinagrette. The lentil salad and trout fillet were flavorsome and the cherry vinagrette complemented the trout perfectly.
The second course was a tasty crostini with goat cheese and brunoise vegetables. The crostini was rather hard, but it still tasted great with the goat cheese spread on top.
The vegetables had no taste. The corn didn’t taste like corn, the carrots didn’t taste like carrots. It was just all one flavor.
The third course was a cauliflower soup that featured a spicy finish. That kick of spiciness is enticing at the first couple spoonfuls, but is tiring as you continue to eat.
The spicy taste stays stuck in the throat as you eat, though a bit of salt seemed to be a simple solution.
The fourth course was a poorly-timed seared beef with mashed turnips, baby carrots and pomegranate orange sauce.
The beef was cooked well done, but still managed to be served at a cool temperature and a bit dry.
The baby carrots were cooked great and the mashed turnips were a better and sweeter replacement for potatoes.
The pomegranate orange sauce was a great complement to the beef, and an easy solution to its dryness.
The fifth course was a delicate and warm apple tart with a delicious homemade ice cream and whipped cream mixed with a bit of cinnamon.
The apple tart just falls apart as you bite it, and even though the ice cream has begun melting by the time you even pay attention to it, it tastes so wonderful.