As he so often did, Jason would host special dinners on Sunday nights. Usually they were wine pairing dinners, an area in which he is immensely gifted and sommeiler trained, but sometimes they would have food themes. This February my dear friends Casey, Steph and Tom treated to me to Jason's swan song - a head to trotters all pig dinner. This fest of pork had 15 courses and at least as many bottles of wine.
The meal was all small plates - tastes of everything from spleen rillettes to blood truffles. Highlights were the ravioli made with blood infused pasta stuffed with poached pork snout; a crystal clear pork consumme; pork belly with a gleaming ruby red root vegetable ragout; a confit of slivered pig heart and sprouted lentils with hazelnut oil; trotters stuffed with mashed potato served on mustard greens; pork cheek with tender carnaroli rice and paper thin slices of air-dried ham; braised tongue and ham hock wrapped in cabbage; and vodka infused with pork done three ways. The last was a lovely mid-meal palate cleanser (if one can cleanse with bacon) that had a tasty squewer of cured pork belly, thick cut bacon and air dried ham resting in the hard spirit that calls to my Russian heritage - top shelf vodka.
As with any gastronomic adventure there are bound to be a few challenging spots only the truly courageous can stomach. One of these spots was the "intestine raffle". A few lucky souls got a dish made with the large intestine, and one of our little group was a winner. Not the small intestine that is used for sausages but the large one that holds the excrement right before it exits Mr. Piggy's behind. It was kind of rolled up and stuffed inside itself so that when you cut into it it looked like a thick casing filled with thick casings. A special wine was served with this dish as Jason explained it is a strong flavor and needed the right balance.
As we each cut off a small bite and passed it on, they same realization came over each of us like a gastronomic wave. At first sensation, it had an interesting but palatable taste and texture. But with further mastication and even with a big gulp of wine, it tasted undeniably like pig shit. Not that I've ever tasted pig shit but if it tastes anything like it smells, then this was closer to tasting it then I ever needed to get. I gulped water and wine and the rest of everyones bacon infused vodka before I could clear my mouth of the vile taste.
There were other dishes that I was indifferent about (the pig liver and the kidneys) but none that rivaled my revulsion like the intestine. In no way, shape or form did this take away from the meal, rather it added to it as this was a meal of experiments, risk and adventure, not of placidly filling my stomach with food I was already sure I liked. I want to like everything, and I pride myself on having a pretty open mind. It takes a lot for me to find a well-prepared dish that I can't eat. Eating for me is like traveling - I may not want to live there, but I'm always glad for the experience.
After ingesting more pig in one sitting then any human should, and with images of gout dancing in my head, we drifted over to the bar to have an aperitif and the last nibbles of our blood infused truffles. Jason was, as always, ready to talk more food, and reveled in describing working with the various pig entrails that made up our meal. That is one of the best parts of Jason's meals - his unquenchable passion for the fabulous food he creates and his endless energy to pass that passion on in both sensations and education.
Bend has lost a truly great dining experience with the closing of Bistro Corlise - Jason you will be missed.
As with any gastronomic adventure there are bound to be a few challenging spots only the truly courageous can stomach. One of these spots was the "intestine raffle". A few lucky souls got a dish made with the large intestine, and one of our little group was a winner. Not the small intestine that is used for sausages but the large one that holds the excrement right before it exits Mr. Piggy's behind. It was kind of rolled up and stuffed inside itself so that when you cut into it it looked like a thick casing filled with thick casings. A special wine was served with this dish as Jason explained it is a strong flavor and needed the right balance.
As we each cut off a small bite and passed it on, they same realization came over each of us like a gastronomic wave. At first sensation, it had an interesting but palatable taste and texture. But with further mastication and even with a big gulp of wine, it tasted undeniably like pig shit. Not that I've ever tasted pig shit but if it tastes anything like it smells, then this was closer to tasting it then I ever needed to get. I gulped water and wine and the rest of everyones bacon infused vodka before I could clear my mouth of the vile taste.
There were other dishes that I was indifferent about (the pig liver and the kidneys) but none that rivaled my revulsion like the intestine. In no way, shape or form did this take away from the meal, rather it added to it as this was a meal of experiments, risk and adventure, not of placidly filling my stomach with food I was already sure I liked. I want to like everything, and I pride myself on having a pretty open mind. It takes a lot for me to find a well-prepared dish that I can't eat. Eating for me is like traveling - I may not want to live there, but I'm always glad for the experience.
After ingesting more pig in one sitting then any human should, and with images of gout dancing in my head, we drifted over to the bar to have an aperitif and the last nibbles of our blood infused truffles. Jason was, as always, ready to talk more food, and reveled in describing working with the various pig entrails that made up our meal. That is one of the best parts of Jason's meals - his unquenchable passion for the fabulous food he creates and his endless energy to pass that passion on in both sensations and education.
Bend has lost a truly great dining experience with the closing of Bistro Corlise - Jason you will be missed.
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