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I met Jessica Largey at the Twelve Days of Christmas in 2013. At the time, she was the chef de cuisine at Manresa under chef David Kinch, who had been invited to cook on Day 11 that year. In the five years since, she has won the James Beard Award for Rising Star, and opened her own restaurant – Simone, named after her favorite singer Nina Simone – in Los Angeles. This year, she returned to The Restaurant at Meadowood on the third night as a guest chef for The Twelve Days of Christmas.
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Largey describes her cooking as focused more on vegetables. Colorful and floral, her plating style was reminiscent of Jeremy Fox’s dishes at last year’s Twelve Days of Christmas, which showcased a rainbow of vegetables and flowers from the garden.
Among my favorites was Largey’s sweet potatoes, which she served with tahini and a spicy harissa vinaigrette. There was also a beautiful bouquet of roasted cauliflower, dressed with a zippy salsa macha.
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One of my favorite dishes during this year’s series so far was Christopher Kostow’s “soft-scrambled egg” dish at this dinner – two discs of scrambled egg filled with soft-scrambled eggs mixed with nuggets of soft tendon, dill stems, and a caviar. It was simple, comforting, and delicious.
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Nina Subhas, the pastry chef at Simone, presented two desserts. I loved how fragrant they were, especially the juniper ice cream, which she served with pomelo granita.
Following is the entire menu from the third night of the Twelve Days of Christmas with chef Jessica Largey of Simone in Los Angeles, California. Here is a link to all of the photos.
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Canapés
Beef Tartare
Thai shallots, kaffir lime, radish.
Crispy Rice Cake
Ume, cured cucumber.
(Largey)
Salad Roll
Pea shoots.
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
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1st Course
Soft-Scrambled Eggs
Caviar, tendon, succulents, barley-cooked potatoes.
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
2nd Course
Sweet Potatoes
Tahini, mustards, tangerine, harissa vinaigrette.
(Largey)
3rd Course
Grilled Cabbage
Celery root, pickled apples, macadamia, salsa macha.
(Largey)
4th Course
Winter Squash
Chanterelles, passion fruit, orange-brown butter.
(Largey)
5th Course
Tiny Onion, Whelk
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
6th Course
Sturgeon
Sprouting cauliflower, yuzu, green garlic,
fermented maitake.
(Largey)
7th Course
Ribeye
Roasted black radish, ginger, pear, garlic,
chive kimchi.
(Largey)
8th Course
Juniper, Pomelo
Black yuzu.
(Largey)
9th Course
Persimmon Cake
Sorrel, black cardamom ice cream.
(Largey)
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Warm Chestnuts
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
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Wine Pairing
Chappellet Chenin Blanc, 2017
Albert Boxler Pinot Gris, 2015
Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay, 2005
Château de Fieuzal, Pessac-Leognan, 2015
Ceritas Pinot Noir, Elliott Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, 2016
Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000
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Below are links to my posts and photos from all Twelve Days of Christmas dinners I have attended. Each chef is listed with the restaurant with which they were cooking at the time they participated in the event (some have moved on to other projects and restaurants).
2012
Scott Anderson(Elements; Princeton, New Jersey)
John & Karen Shields(Formerly of Townhouse; Chilhowie, Virginia)
Phillip Foss(EL Ideas; Chicago, Illinois)
Stuart Brioza & Nicole Krasinski(State Bird Provisions; San Francisco, California)
Jason Franey(Canlis Restaurant; Seattle, Washinton)
Matthias Merges(Yusho; Chicago, Illinois)
Mori Onodera(Formerly of Mori Sushi; Los Angeles, California)
James Syhabout(Commis; Oakland, California)
Nick Anderer(Maialino; New York, New York)
David Toutain(Agapé Substance; Paris, France)
Josh Habiger & Erik Anderson(The Catbird Seat; Nashville Tennessee)
Christopher Kostow(The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2013
Andy Ricker(Pok Pok, Portland, Oregon & New York, New York)
Rodolfo Guzman(Boragó; Santiago, Chile)
Carlo Mirarchi(Blanca and Roberta’s; Brooklyn, New York)
Tim Cushman(O Ya; Boston, Massachusetts)
Ashley Christensen(Poole’s Diner; Raleigh, North Carolina)
David Chang(Momofuku; New York, New York)
Matthew Accarrino(SPQR; San Francisco, California)
Mark Ladner & Brooks Headley(Del Posto; New York, New York)
Rasmus Kofoed(Geranium; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Nicolaus Balla & Cortney Burns(Bar Tartine; San Francisco, California)
David Kinch(Manresa; Los Gatos, California)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2014
Matthew Orlando(Amass; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Frank Castranovo & Frank Falcinelli(Frankies 457, Prime Meats; New York, New York)
Kobe Desramaults(In de Wulf; Dranouter, Belgium)
Alexandre Gauthier(La Grenouillère; La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France)
Blaine Wetzel(Willows Inn; Lummi Island, Washington)
Joshua McFadden(Ava Gene’s; Portland, Oregon)
Virgilio Martinez(Central; Lima, Peru)
Grant Achatz(Alinea; Chicago, Illinois)
Corey Lee(Benu; San Francisco, California)
Esben Holmboe Bang(Maaemo; Oslo, Norway)
Ignacio Mattos(Estela; New York, New York)
Christopher Kostow(The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2015
Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park, NoMad; New York, New York)
Nenad Mlinarevic (Focus; Vitznau, Switzerland)
Christian Puglisi (relæ; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Jorge Vallejo(Quintonil; Mexico City, Mexico)
Joshua Skenes (Saison; San Francisco, California)
Matthew Wilkinson (Pope Joan; Melbourne, Australia)
Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan ([One]; Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Isaac McHale (The Clove Club; London, The United Kingdom)
Kyle Connaughton (Single Thread; Healdsburg, California)
Atsushi Tanaka (A.T. Restaurant; Paris, France)
Justin Yu (Oxheart; Houston, Texas)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2017
Mark Lundgaard Nielsen(Kong Hans Kælder; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Manish Mehrotra(Indian Accents; New Dehli, India; New York, New York; London, U.K.)
Jeremiah Stone & Fabián von Hauske Valtierra(Contra & Wildair; New York, New York)
Jeremy Fox(Rustic Canyon & Tallula’s; Santa Monica, California)
Ben Sukle(birch & Oberlin; Providence, Rhode Island)
Sean Brock(McCrady’s, McCrady’s Tavern, Husk, & Minero; Charleston, South Carolina)
Yoshiaki Takazawa (Takazawa; Tokyo, Japan)
Thomas Keller(The French Laundry; Yountville, California)
Eric Werner(Hartwood; Tulum, Mexico)
Jock Zonfrillo(Orana; Adelaide, Australia)
Alexandre Couillon(La Marine; Noirmoutier, France)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2018
Jose Enrique (Jose Enrique; San Juan, Puerto Rico)
David Pynt (Burnt Ends; Singapore)
Jessica Largey (Simone, Los Angeles, California)
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Photos: Jessica Largey at the Farm with Charlie Appel and Nina Subhas; Largey plating sweet potatoes; Christopher Kostow plating soft-scrambled eggs with caviar; Kostow and Largey at line-up; Largey’s grilled cabbage; Simone’s pastry chef Nina Subhas’s juniper ice cream with pomelo granita; Largey and Subhas working on menus in the bar at The Restaurant at Meadowood;
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