all of the ways

our second go from the "food for thought" series dinners happened last night and went exceptionally well.  the purpose was to do a monthly dinner that focuses on a single ingredient or family of ingredients.  last month was the pea family. 
last night we did stonefruits.  4 courses with wine pairings for $75.  not a bad deal for a restaurant where our check average is about $180 per person.
the best thing about it for us chefs is how we fight over who is doing what with each ingredient. 
the chef used peaches with foie gras, plums with lobster, and cherries with duck.
i opted for apricots. 

the dish started off with slow roasted apricots.  the seeds were added to almonds to make an almond milk.  the almond milk tasted so good i turned the dish into an interpretation of cereal.  the almond milk was thickened with a touch of xanthan to give that whole milk feel without any dairy.  apricots were pureed and dried in the dehydrator to make a croquant.  other apricots were gently cooked sous vide for 2 hours.  yogurt clusters were made from rice krispies, pop rocks, yogurt powder and white chocolate...sort of a new rocher.  financier croutons and broken gaufrette flakes finished the dish with an addition of nasturtium flowers. 

the guests were served with small pitchers of the almond milk to pour as generously as they liked. 

the concept worked well, mimicking a bowl of breakfast cereal with apricot and almond flavors.