Mole Verde: pumpkin seeds, tomatillo, cilantro, and other spices. It was served with chicken breast and rice. It was my first time making Mexican food and it was actually very good. It's from Rick Bayless' "Authentic Mexican" book.
Eggplant with garlic sauce: a Chinese sweet and sour eggplant dish that has a nice balance between sweet, sour, and spiciness. I did use the restaurant "passing through" technique for the eggplant: briefly deep-frying the eggplant before finishing it with the sauce in a wok. It worked very well.
Salted cod fritters, tomato confit, and fried sage: salted cod was mixed with mashed baked potatoes, a generous amount of olive oil, and paprika. They are made into balls and deep-fried in a beer batter. The tomato confit were dried in a low oven for 6 hours with thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. This is topped with a piece of fried sage. Unfortunately the balls were too large and I can only serve two. It would be better to serve three so it doesn't look like certain body parts on the plate...but the fritters were fantastic, especially when paired with the tomatoes. The recipe is from Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook.
Braised beef ribs in a red wine sauce, parsnip puree: pretty classic recipe, apart from the fact that I decided to try pureeing the mirepox instead of keeping that whole (chopped). I think that adds more flavor to the sauce. The sauce is strained, reduced, and thickened with cornstarch. The parnsip puree provided a nice sweetness to cut the acidity of the sauce.
Lemongrass creme brulee: despite some initial skepticisms, this actually turned out quite well. The fresh lemongrass somehow did not provide enough flavor, so I added some preserved lemongrass that comes in the "toothpaste tubes" that you can get in grocery stores. It worked out pretty well: the lemongrass flavor actually makes the creme brulee feel "lighter" even if it is quite a high calories dessert.
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