Wild Black Raspberries~

It's a Minnesota thing, well at least that's what I'm claiming until I find a slew of black raspberries in the West. Black raspberries remind me of railroad tracks. When I was growing deep in the woods we were surrounded by ponds, forest and railroads. Along the tracks grew wild black raspberries which we would pick each summer. Some summers were better than others and this summer was not a good one. But, there was a light at the end of the tracks that did hold plentiful black raspberries. After spending an hour picking berries and fighting ticks and pricks from the bushes, we had about three pounds of these beauties....it was a fine day. We decided to make freezer jam so we could stretch our love and labor of our berries deep into the winter months when we would need a friendly reminder of what summer was all about.

The begining of the picking.

The Cluster

Look Like Red Raspberries, But Just Un-Ripe Black Ones!

Here's To The Crew~

Thanks again for all your hard work! Here is who was part of the team for the 2011 Savory Palate~

Thanks Ryan, Ryan, Burtis, Alison, Monica, Jordan, Meryl, Ben, David, Yoko, Mo, Jeff, Eric, Owen, Issac, Trisha, Tina, Chris, Max and Jeff!

Final Week of Evening Restaurant!

Drum roll please...... This was our last night of restaurant for Spring quarter and also the final night of our evening service for The Savory Palate. The restaurant will now go to lunch service and be run by Chef Ramzy. Our dinner service for the past quarter was an another incredible success. It is and was always a pleasure to watch the students become more confident in the back and front of the house throughout the eleven weeks. Some of the dishes and food we designed this quarter were eye-opening and inspiring. A special thanks goes out to my students who showed respect and passion each day. Any local chef would be lucky to have them work for their restaurant.
Here is what the final week looked like:

AMUSE:  Santa Barbara Shrimp Sushi with Borage Flower (tastes like cucumber)

SOUP: Gazpacho with Spherified Mozzarella and Crispy Basil

SALAD:  Marinated and Grilled Octopus Salad

PASTA: Black Garlic Fettucine with Heirloom Tomatoes and Sunburst Squash

ENTREE: Duck Confit over Creamed Pearl Onions and Sunchoke Chips!

DESSERT: Funnel Cake, Italian Soda, Cotton Candy and Fruit Roll Up (All Home-Made!)