It's all About Presentation

Our Red Hat group visited the Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale on December 8th for lunch. (See posts on Dec. 8th & Dec. 15th.) Today I am going to post our food choices. *indicates my three choices, which were delicious; cost was $10.00.

We were seated 6 to a table. Our server told us prior to ordering, only 2 of the same dishes could be ordered at each table. So we had to talk, plan and compromise before placing each of our three food orders. He took our salad order first. These were our choices:

Starter Selections

 Nicoise Salad with Seared Ahi Tuna -

with egg, haricot vert, olives, tomato concasse, fingerling potatoes

 Grilled Fruits & Arugula Salad – 

with crispy prosciutto, shaved parmesan cheese, 

served with a champagne vinaigrette dressing

 *Watermelon, Mache and Arugula Salad – 

with goat cheese, kalamata olives, red onions, mint, 

red wine vinaigrette dressing

 Caprese Salad – 

served with fried mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, 

roasted red peppers, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar reduction

No one at our table chose

Caesar Salad – with romaine, grated reggiano, brioche croutons, 

classic dressing, white anchovy, and a parmesan cookie

Shrimp Risotto – using fine herb salad and preserved lemon
Flatbread or Pizza Special of the Day

Main Plate Selections

 Salmon – 

served with English pea puree, asparagus, 

parisian potatoes with butter sauce

 *Pork Schnitzel – 

served with braised red cabbage, spaetzle with sauce charcuterie

 Lamb Burger – 

with feta cheese, tomato marmalade, spinach, 

sautéed red onions, served with hand-cut french fries

 Beef Short Rib – 

served with potato puree, sauté of seasonal vegetables, 

three onion relish, gravy

 Roasted Breast of Turkey – in a club sandwich, 

with crisp bacon, tomatoes, sliced boiled eggs, bibb lettuce,
and housemade mayonnaise

(notice how the fries are upright in the center of the sandwich?)

 Halibut – 

served with corn and fava bean succotash, tomatoes, peas

Other choices:

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad – with romaine, reggiano, brioche croutons, classic dressing, white anchovy, and a parmesan cookie

Vegetarian Selection – with summer vegetable risotto and crispy zucchini

Now for the Desserts

 Chocolate Mousse – 

classic chocolate mousse with Viennese sponge cake, 

raspberries and raspberry sauce

 Seasonal Fruit Crumble – 

with vanilla bean ice cream

 Classic Creamy Cheesecake – 

with strawberry-rhubarb compote and cocoa sauce

 *Salted Caramel Pot de Crème – 

with Chantilly cream and almond sable cookie

Cookies and Ice – 

assorted cookies and choice of three ice cream or sorbets of the day

I visited with a chef from the Minneapolis Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. She and chefs from the other CB Colleges were in town for some training, and a cooking contest. I would love to visit the college restaurant in Minneapolis.

We all agreed we would go back again. 

The food was tasty, well presented, priced right and in the heart of a shopping area. 

A perfect girls' day!