For over a decade I eat, sleep and drink all things Bravo so when I heard Chef Adrain Martin planned to drive through California I had to book him right away! I loved the Below Deck season 6 in Thailand. It was the last GREAT season… the show runs a bit boring for me these days. This is my third dinner with Adrian– usually, my friend throws a party when he is in town but since she was due to deliver a baby any minute I stepped in to host. So after I booked I called up my other friend to borrow her house for the night!
I hate hosting things at my house. The kitchen is old and I probably won’t replace it for another year or two–we have other projects more important to us. Plus, my dog is super old and gets stressed with people in the house so I usually lock him upstairs and he howls the entire time…. not fun. My friend just redid her kitchen and LOVES to entertain so she yelled yes immediately. She doesn’t even watch the show!
Adrian asked if anyone had allergies or small preferences. As a big fan of the show, I didn’t want to be the jerk with the giant preference sheet so I only asked everyone about their allergies. None of us have any. NOW… I HATE duck and finfish. So I told Adrian no duck or salmon. I wanted to force myself to try things I normally wouldn’t so I left off all my other dislikes.
The Decor
At first, I wanted an all-white party but my friends were like it is so close to Halloween let’s do all black! I was the only one in the group with not a single black dress. But, it sounded fun so I agreed. Then we called up Boy Girl Floral in Monterey to discuss a table situation. If you’ve been to my shop they did the big pampas grass piece on the wall. I told them the vibe (all black with reds and golds) and then just let them get creative from there. I was OBSESSED when I walked in and saw everything. It was all perfect. Boy Girl Floral did such a great job and I can’t wait to see their Christmas arraignments this year! See a video of the night over on my Instagram.
The FOOD
Chef Adrian kept the menu a secret even from me and I loved the anticipation. Both mine and my friend’s husband were late so we started around 7:15. We were all excited and ready for the reveal when we sat down. I decided to go with girls on one side and boys on the other to shake up the conversation. It was perfect– we all laughed and had a great time. See a full video of each course Chef Adrain created on my Instagram.
The First Course
Seared + Roasted Scallop Topped w/Furikake in a Red Curry Sauce
Seared shiitake yellow oyster&blue crab topped with green mango salad, bow tie crisps, and a passion fruit saffron toile.
This was my favorite dish of the night. EVERYONE was obsessed with this one. It was the perfect way to start the night. I’ve never actually had scallops and now I plan on ordering often. The flavors were all perfectly blended and the mango with the crab was what I call a perfect bite.
The Second Course
Lamb and yam gnocchi truffle and turmeric roasted gnocchi with a sweet pepper roasted lamb ragu with rezel Anubis spices and pickled green tomatoes inside a mini pumpkin grown in @chefadrianmartin garden!!
It is hard to describe this dish– it was warm like a hug. The gnocchi was perfect and the ragu was amazing. All the ladies LOVED the second favorite dish. As women who love to cook, we were all in awe at how perfectly the flavors blended and how perfect the pumpkins were prepared!
The Third Course
Lime poached lobster tail seared in butter on top of a sweet potato waffle. Topped in a passion fruit lime syrup and a lobster sake foam. Pickled yellow onion
I did a little happy dance when I saw the lobster come out. It is my husband’s favorite (I hate it) and I loved his happy reactions. This was my husband’s second favorite dish. He ate mine and his. I devoured the sweet potato waffle and even tried the lobster. It was delicious but I just don’t like lobster. The sauce on this plate was really incredible I actually ate every drop with the waffle. It was incredible.
The Fourth Course
Garlic poached ribeye steak and flash seared with a blueberry gastric..toasted brioche and coconut amino roasted broccoli rabe and savory roasted orange cauliflower and EDIBLE Silver
We all squealed a bit over this dish. It was so pretty and the silver was a cool touch. Adrian explained to us all the health benefits of eating silver. Super cool. Everything about this dish was perfection. The little brioche bite was amazing. All the men were super happy. My husband even at the vegetables which is amazing!
Dessert
Sake raspberry rose mousse with blueberry and Modelo jam and passionfruit mochi center. Covered in white chocolate, and red velvet, then topped in gold. Raspberry & mirin coulis. Pear chip and 5 spice chip and a blueberry almond muffin.
I didn’t think I could eat one more bite after the steak but when I saw dessert I rallied. It was delicious! The pear chip was one of the most incredible flavors I’ve ever tried. We were awed by how perfectly it was cut. The mousse was so incredible. I loved how when you cut into it there were so many layers and flavors to it. The muffin was almost savory. I forgot to ask if there was an herb in it. The perfect mix with the sweetness of the mousse.
The whole night was just dreamy and I can’t wait to do it again next time Chef Adrian is in town. Follow Adrian on Instagram and if he says he will be near your town BOOK HIM! The whole experience is amazing. He will entertain you with stories from the boat and his travels. It really was just a magical night.
