Fig-crusted halibut and fresh English peas win over the Hidden Kitchen guests

Saturday, in San Mateo, California, Eclecdish hosted the first in a series of Hidden Kitchen dinners. A blustery but sunny day gave way to a cool but clear evening as I welcomed 24 of our favorite foodies to enjoy the best that spring has to offer.

Guests were greeted with champagne cocktails and escorted to the upper terraces that, on clearer days, offer views of San Francisco and of the Bay. Passed hordeuvres included Gruyere and country ham fritters inspired by my days in North Carolina and, because of the time of year, fava bean crostinis finished with fresh parmesan and mint. Hordeuvres wouldn't be hordeurves without puff pastries topped with lamb loin and carmelized onions that I learned how to make in San Francisco.

With Champagne and the heat lamps warming up the crowd, everyone was seated and offered a selection of white wines: a 2005 Rombauer Chardonnay and a 2005 Henri Bourgeois, “La Chantereine" Cheverny. Kira loves my scallops, so I chose to start the meal with a first course of seared sea scallops served with a roasted bell pepper relish and handpicked micro greens.

For the second course, I'd experimented throughout the week on variations of pea soup, not the San Francisco foggy kind of course! Instead, everyone enjoyed fresh Half Moon Bay English Pea Soup topped with crispy bacon and cornbread croutons.

After the second course, two red wines were on offer: a 2004 Sin Zin Zinfandel from Alexander Valley and a 2004 King's Ridge Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley. I consider the third course my signature dish - halibut topped with a fig and carmelized shallot tapenade. I served this with a potato-leek hash and roasted yellow beets.

For the fourth course, I smoked a beef tenderloin and served it with red rice pilaf and grilled asparagus drizzled with a Zinfandel demi-glace. Apparently, at one of the tables, this dish created quite the demand for smokers. The asparagus from Farmer's Market also caused a ruckus earlier in the day because they looked so good coming off the grill that I almost didn't have enough for the dinner.

Last but not least, the fifth course was a decadent white chocolate-fresh cherry bread pudding finished with a creme anglaise sauce. Hmmm! I'll admit that the kitchen crew ate quite a bit of that later in the night during clean-up.

In the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting more photos and recipes from the Hidden Kitchen dinner. I'm already starting to plan the second in the series, so stay tuned for more information.

Happy eating! Jeff