If I Forget Thee Oh Jerusalem

“Wow,” was the recent comment from one of my guests. He had ordered the Chef’s Choice Vegan Table, one of my very favorite meals to prepare. I can go off-script, source the best ingredients of the day, and follow my culinary fancy. The challenge, of course, is that I never really know until after the fact what my guest is really going to like, since the menu is entirely in my hands. Sometimes, I bomb. This time was thankfully far more successful.

“What did you do to those Jerusalem artichokes,” was the query. I had to think about it for a minute before answering. When you are cooking off-script, as this order entailed, nothing is rote. Without realizing, I’d actually introduced lemons three different ways into this roasted dish: first, lemon zests roasted with the artichokes; then, once called, mixed in a pickled lemon paste with parsley and dill; final;ly, finished with quarters of preserved lemons.

I responded to my client with this response, followed by a question: “Maybe I should rename the dish “Three-Way Lemons, garnished with Jerusalem Artichokes”? “Nah,” was the response. “Call it Jerusalem Artichoke with a trio of lemon, this way it would cost more.”

Did I mention that I love guests with a sense of humor? Especially those with a creative, marketing sensibility.