It is important to keep flavors focused. If not, dishes can get out of hand quickly. Even when we are trying to layer flavors our good intentions can become overwhelming at times. In our continued attempts for self improvement we put together a couple of dishes which layer, balance and play flavors off one another.
What I found most promising in these dishes is that we were able to keep the flavors and tastes compact. These dishes are tasty and are able to avoid culinary gymnastics. The first dish is a quail parcel wrapped in romaine lettuce and accompanied by honey mustard, lemon seasoned jalapeno and chocolate salt. 
The other dish is another creme caramel featuring lovage, smoked cashews and olive caramel played off fourme d' ambert sprinkled with ground cashews and olives. A few nuggets of pickled celery root punctuate the dish.
