April 2008

A SPRING DINNER WITH FRIENDS

Planning and anticipating a dinner party is just as exciting as having one.

Spring is the season for fresh fava beans, California artichokes, salmon, lamb, morel mushrooms, and strawberries.

An array of amuse-bouches to invigorate the appetite: Bruchette with Fava Bean Puree' and Peccorino, a hearty appertizer from Martha Stewart's Hors d'oeuvres , Stewed Artichoke Hearts, the artichokes were make from scratch, it took 2 hours to prepare them and consumed in record time of five minutes, and Roasted Almonds.

Salmon en Papiotte on bed of spring onions and celery. This first course salmon is baked in the oven with a slice of fried pork belly in a paper pouch.

Rare Roasted Leg of Lamb with Saute' Morel. Fresh morels are a seasonal treat and only available fresh in the Spring. Sadly, they were rather soggy at the market so I used dried morel with button mushrooms. The perfume was unstakenly morel but the texture was not near the luxury of the fresh morel.

Fresh Strawberries Soup. Three simple ingredients made one of the most memorable desserts: strawberry, sugar, and orange juice. This recipe came from the French Master La cuisine de Joel Robuchon. The soup can be topped with candied lemon peels.

This light dessert was followed by Lemon Clove Cookies, a recipe from Alice Water's Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook. I used organic country butter, organic sugar, and whole wheat flour.

SPRING DINNERS

Bun Rieu Vietnamese Shrimp and egg noodle soup. This is a cheater's version. The real recipe - Crab/Shrimp Noodle Soup (Bun Rieu)
is much richer and more time involved.

Mache/Parsley Salad with Peppered Goat Cheese. Eat more leafy plants.






Around this time, juicey and fatter asparagus are beginning to appear. Asparagus and Hollandaise is a match made in a heavenly Spring.






This Coq au Vin** is vastly improved with the use of Poulet Rouge
Fermier du Piedmont, a selected free range breed grown on a farm in North Carolina...or a Whole Foods near you.
According to Larousse Gastronomique, the real coq au vin is first browned with butter, bacon and a bouquet garni, flambe' with cognac, then braised for 1 1/2 hours with red wine(a Chambertine or a Macon) and mushrooms. Afterward the cooking liquid is reduced and then monte' with kneaded butter. This rich version I have not tried. With mine, I skipped the bacon, cognac and butter at the end, but instead relied on the flavor the dry porcini/cepes.



Eggs Benedict with Kale*. This version substitutes Canadian Bacon with healthier organic kale. Michael Pollan, the guru of micronutrients and the author of many nutrition books, notably a recent New York Times article, Unhappy Meals, has come up with the new eating mantra: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." The kale is great with this version of Eggs Benedict.




Spring Lamb Quenelles with Spinach Mold. The ground lamb is combined with bread crumbs, eggs, and spice; shaped into little foodball shape balls; and baked in the oven. The spinach is saute'ed with garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. Prep and cooking time about 45 minutes.

Pate* with Asparagus and Hollandaise Sauce. This pate version
is an improvement from last time (see version in March). I did not add any egg or
flour to the concoction. The result is a more firm pate and more flavorful.

Water Cress and Eggs Salad*/ Asparagus and Crab Soup. Exotic Vietnamese dishes that may have their fuzzy origin in the colonial French era. Water cress and asparagus are not native plants to Southeast Asia.