Hello, everyone.

Cheryl was in the middle of several concurrent crises Thursday night (a severely pulled back muscle, a complete computer failure that prevented the waiters from entering and processing their orders and a programming problem with the air conditioning control panel) when Paul cheerily flagged her down and said: "Look at this!"

Cheryl peered into the pass between the kitchen line and dining room with a pained expression, part of which had to do with her back and part of which had to do with the fact that she thought her husband had changed the duck recipe again, not a week after he'd changed the 38-year-old standard duck recipe he inherited from his mother. (We mentioned the duck last week, because Paul had substituted tamarind for Sophie's classic apricot because the breakfast staff had tapped his entire supply of apricot preserves to serve with toast. We've had plenty of time to get more apricots in, but Paul has stuck with the tamarind because the customers have been going crazy for it.)

Because Cheryl is not tall enough to see the plates from the diner's perspective when they are resting on the pass, she thought she saw duck on mashed potatoes with a big slice of foie gras on top. She rolled her eyes, in a way that made Paul recoil in disappointment and surprise. Then she forced herself up on tiptoe and realized that it was rare steak. Paul explained that the little square on top was beurre composée, a composed butter flavored with thyme and black pepper and a little soy sauce. The edges of the plate were dressed with Bordelaise.

"That might actually be good," Cheryl conceded with a grimace, as she lowered herself flat-footed again. A few minutes later, a couple of ladies on Table 31 grabbed her to rave about the steak, so we guess Paul's new creation is worthy.

Paul is sticking with the new duck with tamarind preparation, so much so that he sent his wife out today to find a dozen celadon green plates to serve the dish on because the coconut milk under the duck was nearly invisible on our classic white dinner plates. After three stops and four cell phone calls to the chef, she finally found plates that fit the bill. They have a not-quite-even round edge and are a color that Pier One probably refers to as bamboo. They are almost avocado green, but kind of a celadon green avocado.

The Pink Plate Special this coming week will be Elihu Farm lamb shoulder braised in stock and spices Tunisian style, served with mutton meatballs which are fried and then braised, with two sauces, one spicy and one mild, with couscous and appropriate veg..

The Pink Plate is a weekly prix fixe special we offer on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. For $30 per person, you get your choice of soup or salad, the featured entree, two selections from our cheese board or one of a couple of featured desserts and coffee, tea or espresso.

Paul has been experimenting with new ways to fabricate rabbit. What he has been doing is separating the legs and leaving the skirt attached to the loin. He divides the skirt and the loin into thirds and uses a third with each of the rear legs and a third with both of the fore legs. By Saturday, he plans to come up with a dish where the skirt, the flat portion of muscle across the belly is used to roll up a forcemeat made from the other portions of the rabbit. It's kind of like a paupiette de veau, (veal puppets) except that a rabbit skirt starts out flat and doesn't have to be pounded. "It's a piece of meat that you can kind of use like a fruit rollup," Paul said. "I might do it sousvide, to get it to firm up before I sauté it. What I'm looking for is two different tournedoes with very different textures."

We suspect that the spring softshell crab season is drawing to a close. The price has gone from incredibly reasonable to out of the ballpark and we can't imagine that people want to pay $40 for a couple of softshells so Paul didn't order them for this weekend.
"They are also getting a little leathery, which is usually a sign they are on their way out for the season," Paul said.

Cheryl is not a big fan of pasta, so when it appeared as staff meal on Thursday night, at the end of what had been a fairly frustrating day, she made a face. Souschef Mark D. Graham caught the grimace and offered to make her some polenta with chanterelle and morels, which sounded great to her. It was great, but it surprised her that the polenta was loose and creamy instead of a tight fried or baked cake.
"Polenta can be loose like this?" she asked. "This is almost like grits."
Mark started to explain and cure Cheryl of her bi-polenta disorder, when Paul walked in and heard the explanation. "Classic polenta is usually loose," he piped up. "In fact, it's a lot like grits."

Mark has been serving the polenta as part of the vegetarian sampler, but he's not sure if that will still be the case this weekend because he has "a whole other program" in mind, if the farmers bring him the right ingredients. If it gets bumped from the ever-changing vegetarian option, it might appear as a side dish with one of the entrees.

Paul and Mark are planning a chowder with sweet, tender bay scallops and corn for this weekend.

They will also be serving Pacific red rockfish, a kind of snapper.
Paul is putting a filet with a a little salt, a little white pepper, a sprig of tarragon and two tablespoons of white wine in Cryovac.
It's vbeing cooked sousvide, (in a low-temperature circulating water
bath) until it reaches 52 degrees Centigrade. Then it's broiled skin side up until it browns a little bit and then it's served on a plate with a reduction of caramelized mushrooms and veal stock. "The flavors together are really kind of cool and the presentation is gorgeous," Paul said. "It's got a combination of richness and delicacy that is really kind of neat."

We didn't know when we did the newsletter last week that Paul would get his hands on veal kidneys this week. He flambéed them with Cognac and finished them with cream. There are a few portions left for Friday, which we probably will sell verbally rather than put them on the printed menu. If you're a fan of kidneys, give us a call and we'll reserve a portion for you.

Exotic mushrooms are featured in many of our dishes right now because the season in most of the country is in full swing. Local mushrooms will be appearing on our doorstep any minute now. Two of the major mushrooms we are using are morels and chanterelles.

Morels belong to the same fungus family as truffles. The edible mushrooms have a distinctive, honeycombed cap that can be shorter than an inch and as tall as 4 inches. The small, delicate ones we will be serving have a dark brown color and came from an exotic mushroom farmer.
Chanterelles are a trumpet-shaped mushroom with a color that ranges from bright yellow to orange. Known in France as the girolle, the chanterelle has a delicate, nutty (sometimes fruity) flavor and a chewy texture. Chanterelles are usually imported from Europe and can be found growing in parts of the Pacific Northwest and along the East Coast

Our Sunday Jazz brunch this week with pianist Cole Broderick will feature pan-seared escolar with crawfish cream sauce ($15); grilled sausage on an herbed ciabatta roll with carmelized onions and gruyere ($13); grilled N.Y. strip with chipotle peach glaze and oven-roasted potato ($15); and coconut waffle with poached apricots and choice of bacon and sausage ($12). Appetizer specials include steamed Rhode Island Littleneck clams ($12); a salad of Sunset Hill Farm greens tossed in a red wine vinaigrette ($7) and soup of the day ($8).

The brunch specials run from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The complete menu,
offered from 7 to 2 p.m., includes a Continental assortment of
muffins, pastries, fruit, yogurt, frittata etcetera for $9;
omelettes ($9 to $11); pancakes du jour ($9); the All in One, which includes 2 eggs any style, homefries, toast and sausage or bacon ($10); waffles with sweet cream butter and local maple syrup ($10); and Irish steel- cut oatmeal ($8).
Jazz pianist Cole Broderick plays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Live Piano Jazz
Jazz pianist Cole Broderick plays the baby grand Tuesday through
Friday night, and during Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
(barring special events that preclude live music.)
Cost: No cover charge

Tasting menus
Chef's Choice seven-course tasting menu available each night. The
menus are designed based on the best and most creative dishes Chef Paul K. Parker is serving each evening. We will pair wines for you or you can order from our extensive wine list.
Cost: $75 per person, plus tax and tip. Everyone at the table must
partake in the tasting menu.

If you're feeling less impromptu, you can call ahead to arrange a
special tasting menu with the number of courses and wine pairings
designed to suit your capacity, dietary restrictions and budget.
Tasting menus arranged in advance will be printed on commemorative
vellum scrolls personalized with the name of the host or the reason
for the event.
Cost: $50 to $200, depending on the number of courses and the wines
selected; available for two to 75 guests. Call Cheryl to make
arrangements 518.583.3538

The Pink Plate Special
offered Monday, June 11, Tuesday, June 12, Wednesday, June 13 and Thursday, June 14.

$30 per person
includes your choice of soup or salad, a special entree, selected
desserts or a cheese course and coffee, tea or espresso.

This week's special entree:
Elihu Farm lamb shoulder braised in stock and spices Tunisian style, served with mutton meatballs which are fried and then braised, with two sauces, one spicy and one mild

Notes on Nico and Léo: Léo learned to dismantle the child locks on a cabinet and Cheryl found her happily trying to open a condom packet with her teeth. Mom tried to confiscate it casually, but Nico caught the swoop and zoomed right in. "What did Léo have, Mommy?" Nico demanded. "None of your business," Mommy should have said.
Instead, she said "It's a condom, and it's not a toy."
Oops.
"What is a condom for, Mommy?" Nico asked. In for a penny, in for a pound. A pair of child psychologists, who dined with us Thursday night, were avid to hear what Cheryl responded.
"Well," Cheryl stuttered, "first I wasted some time on the subject of privacy and personal possessions, but Nico wasn't diverted."
"What's it for?" he demanded.
How far to go? "Okay, you know how I told you how babies are made when Daddies and Mommies love each other, and the Daddy plants a seed that grows in the Mommy's belly and it turns into a baby?" Nico nodded knowlegeably, and Cheryl took a deep breath, knowing she'd gone in too far with a four-year-old and there was no intelligent way back out. "Well, sometimes, the Daddies and the Mommies aren't ready to have any more babies. A condom is one of the ways they make sure that they don't have any accidents."

Nico stared directly at his mother for a long time, then said flatly:
"I want a baby brother."
Cheryl, now wishing she'd inflicted long term emotional damage on the child by ignoring his questions and not taking him seriously, said:
"That's not going to happen."
"Then I want a baby sister," he said.
"You already have a baby sister," Cheryl told him.
"Well, I want a DIFFERENT baby sister," he said.

The Parker family
at Chez Sophie
518.583.3538