Anything But Traditional

Yesterday I was treated to the best Christmas meal that my palette has been blessed to taste. It was non-traditional and totally natural, two things that I love, especially when it comes to family & food. Our menu included: Seared Ahi Tuna salad featuring butter lettuce with a champagne vinaigrette verjus & Skirt Steak with pan seared portobello mushrooms. No we did not dine out. This was all enjoyed from the comfort of our family home and to top it all off we had an in house cook for the evening. A chef he was not. He is an avid foodie and VP of kindform.com, Kirish Dirkson who makes eating at 4 and 5 star restaurants a part of his daily job. We felt very blessed to have him give us the gift of food on Christmas day especially considering his uber busy schedule. He travels the nation in search of restaurants like Uchiko of Austin and The Fontainebleau in Miami on a regular basis. 

Our dinner began with this fresh & hearty salad

"Food is an essential part of the content that we cover for Kindform. Food preparation really is an art and those who are passionate about cuisine, produce some of the most amazing dishes that I have ever tasted."    -Kirish Dirkson

Premium grade skirt steak in the raw

He has dined at some of the best restaurants worldwide and chatted with top notch chefs in order to hone his own personal cooking prowess and skills. Though he wishes he could devote more time to his own joy of cooking, his fresh food choices truly reflected his family's long tradition of great food; his flavor for fine fare; and now, the bar of expectation for our Christmas Dinner has forever been significantly raised. 


Did we miss the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashers and green bean casserole? No way. We replaced it with choice cut steaks, organic salad, raw green beans and portabella mushrooms. It was non-traditionally divine but in staying true to holiday tradition, we stuffed ourselves silly.

Garlic, rosemary and basil featured in the champagne vinaigrette

For a bit of feasting flavor know that our amazing vinaigrette dressing featured extra virgin extra virgin olive oil, shallots, minced garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, edible flowers and chives. I wish you could have smelled the tantalizing aromas that flowed from the big kitchen last night. It was the smell of culinary greatness and in gratitude, we did the dishes.


I was so appreciative of this extremely kind & healthy gesture for the holiday. It tasted so amazing, and though I did not get to partake in last years' feast, the highlights included Caribbean Mako Shark and Pancetta wrapped scallops. It is safe to say that I definitely missed out in 2010 but the thought of it makes my mouth water. Question is:What is on the menu for 2012?

All of the food Dirkson prepared for our meal was purchased from Whole Foods and if you want to add a bit of actual whole and natural foods to your daily regimen, this book may be the perfect way to start fresh for the new year. 


Eat, drink & be merry!


Photos: K. Rodriguez