Once I decided I wanted to highlight my bone marrow pasta, I naturally landed on an Italian menu for Spring! 

These dinners continue to be so fun because they push me to get creative. I love starting a big meal with soup, salad, and bread (Olive Garden anyone?), but knew I wanted to jazz everything up. So I turned the beloved cacio e pepe pasta into a soup. For the bread, I did three different flavor combos, increasing in complexity and ultimately ending with a punchy home-cured duck breast, romano, mint, and chili combo -- somehow, all the strong flavors balanced each other out! To keep the salad dish interactive, I served with Vietnamese shrimp crackers (hell yeah fusion food!), which ended up being a fun chip-and-dip-situation.

The crudo was an absolutely gorgeous little plate and inspired by dinners I had at Bestia in LA and 7 Adams in SF. The star of the show -- the bone marrow pasta -- featured orecchiette pasta shaped like little "ears," perfect for holding onto the marrow and all the herbs. Guests also went home with little jars of the homemade spice mix I used (featuring homegrown rosemary). 

I was thrilled with the idea for dessert too. Combining two iconic Italian desserts into one, plus rum? I had to do a lot of quality control for this one...

This fall-themed menu featured succulent duck breast and warm, toasty flavors wherever I could incorporate them: think pumpkin and pumpkin seeds, tons of herbs, torched meats and smoked salt, and the classic nostalgic flavors of freshly baked bread, sweet jam, and the quintessential chicken soup. I was really proud of this menu because I focused on honing original recipes and leveling up my plating!

One of my guiding principles for this menu was being intentional about the form and function of each individual ingredient. If I put something on the plate, it couldn't just be pretty (form), it also needed to add to the depth of the dish or contribute to the fall theme (function). Some ingredients -- like the charred candied orange or zesty gremolata -- made this easy work. 

This menu also felt much more elevated and "fine dining-esque" than my inaugural Japanese menu. I think it was a combination of taking the lessons I'd learned from those first seatings (I will never serve a piece of fish with bone in it again), really elevating each dish's presentation, and having a clear vision for the dinner.

The inaugural Boulette & Co. menu. I knew I wanted to serve a decadent black miso cod, so I built the rest of the menu around this dish. If you've never had black cod before, it is naturally much more fatty than regular cod, which is leaner and has smaller flakes. This means that you can blast it at a high temperature to caramelize the outside (in this case, the miso and sake glaze) and still end up with some of the most tender, buttery fish you've ever had. 

To bring fine dining for friends to life, I wanted to showcase a variety of interesting ingredients (like salmon belly, yuzu kosho, and beef tartare) alongside fun techniques (like the sous vide egg, blow torched wagyu, and puffed rice paper) in an approachable way. Even though I was confident in my dishes and so excited to spend this much time cooking for friends, I was unbelievably nervous to host! If you joined, thank you so much for letting me cook for you (let's collectively forget that I set the parchment paper on fire...TWICE) <3 

I learned a lot from this dinner -- how I only want to serve things I would completely stand behind and how to improve my pacing and prep, among other things -- and can't wait to apply them to future experiences!