MARCH BIRTHDAY DINNER PARTY

Here is the menu for a dinner party for 14. 
The clients comments are at the bottom. 

Pictures to come.

BIRTHDAY DINNER

MARCH 21, 2015

BAGNA CAUDA

WITH CAULIFLOWER & BROCCOLI

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CAPONATA

WITH GRILLED TOASTS

·       

ZUCCHINI FRITTERS

MUSHROOM RISOTTO WITH SCALLOPS

TURKISH EGGPLANT – IMAM BAYALDI

FISH TAGINE WITH CHERMOULA & VEGETABLES

ROASTED CARROTS & PARSNIPS WITH

ROASTED GARLIC & CHICKPEAS

·       

ARUGULA SALAD

WITH LEMON VINAIGRETTE AND PARMESAN

            And the client said:

“Everything was amazing. The timing of everything, the food, the smells.

It was absolutely fantastic. The risotto may have been the star.

It completed a memorable weekend for me and my friends. 

Thank you so much for putting everything together. You're a true professional.” 

WHAT I'M COOKING TOMORROW

Since I haven't been showing you what I am cooking lately...I am listing what I'm cooking for a client tomorrow. You can also see how they are packaged. Photos below:

Chicken Breast stuffed with Prosciutto and Herb Garlic Cheese

with a Lemon Sauce

Quinoa Pilaf with Shiitakes, Carrots, and Pecans

Soy-roasted Salmon

Asparagus and Beets with Goat Cheese

In the refrigerator

Beef and Sauce Stuffed Eggplant with Bechamel Sauce

Sauteed Broccoli and Tomatoes

and a Mixed Green Salad with Green Goddess Dressing 

(no photos)

SUMMER OR AUTUMN CAPONATA

 

Caponata is more familiar as a dish made with eggplant. Here eggplant is used instead of the eggplant  try substituting butternut squash in the autumn. Using different seasonal vegetables keeps the tastebuds awake and surprised. This is simply a mouth-watering vegetable medley soaked in flavor. Taste at the finish to get the right balance of sweet and sour. Good as a starter with a crusty bread, or as a side dish.

2  red onions, peeled, quartered and sliced

½ - 3⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 can tomato puree or peeled and seeded whole tomatoes

1⁄2 cup dry red wine

1⁄2 cup sugar

2 butternut squash, or 2 eggplants, ½-1 inch cubes

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 head celery, stalks separated and peeled, large dice

1⁄2 pound pitted green olives

1-2 tablespoons capers, preferably the salted capers, well rinsed

1⁄2 cup parsley, chopped

1⁄4-1/2 cup pine nuts

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Saute, quartered and sliced onion in olive oil in a large thick bottomed saucepan. Add the tomatoes or tomato puree, wine and sugar. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, and stir occasionally.

Peel, seed and dice the squash or eggplant.  I left the peel on the eggplant.

Stir the vinegar into the saucepan, stir and scrape up from the bottom of the pan.

Add the eggplant or squash. Season with salt and pepper.  Stir to coat the squash with the sauce.

Blanch the diced celery (it is really important to peel the celery) in boiling water then drain and dip into ice water. Add to the mixture. 
Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the squash is fork tender. The eggplant should be soft and silky and cooked through.

Chop the olives, or just break them up with with your fingers. Stir in the capers, parsley, olives, and pine nuts for final five minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning. Add more vinegar or sugar if necessary. If you taste this immediately after it is made the vinegar will be the top note, if you let it rest for a day or two it will smooth out and loose it's bite.

 

Let the mixture sit and cool off the stove. This Caponata is better the next day. 
Remove from the saucepan and place in a jar or covered serving containers.

Serve room temperature with an additional flurry of salt and pepper, a drizzle of very good 
quality extra virgin olive oil, maybe some torn and tossed genoa basil leaves and several 
slices of crusty bread.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA

Vegetables Served

A RECENT ASSORTMENT of Vegetable and near-Vegetable dishes made at a high altitude. Don't let anyone tell you that there is no difference in the cooking style. You need to cook everything with lots more liquid. Here are the platters:

IMAM BAYALDI otherwise known as the Imam Fainted...

An eggplant dish with onions, tomatoes and raisins, slowly braised in a covered pan with plenty of olive oil. Decorate with fennel fronds.

 STEAMED GREENS (KALE AND SWISS CHARD fresh from the garden) 

in a Lemon Vinaigrette with Zucchini that were steamed whole.

Some tomato flesh on top.

STUFFED PEPPERS fresh from the garden. 

(Yes, they grow that way...complete with the stuffing...not...)

Stuffed with rice and ground beef, pine nuts with who-knows-what and then some...

The sauce is made from whole plum tomatoes put into the food processor and

some Pomegranate Molasses added. Cook in  a covered pot with plenty of liquid. 

Whole pomegranate seeds, orange zest and mint tossed on top. 

EGGPLANT JUGGLE

This braised dish fell together, almost by itself, just from what was in the pantry and fridge. I love the way eggplant melts down to taste and feel very meaty. The addition here of the fennel, instead of celery, adds a bit more flavor interest. You can spice it up with the jalapeno and red pepper flakes if you must, and I must, but it tastes good without them. just a touch of sweetener removes any possible bitterness. I don't know a good substitute for the Zatar and it is a major component here so well worth locating - try Fairway and Kalustyans or any Middle Eastern grocery. Some friends had raved about Trader Joe's frozen artichoke pieces so I bought some. Right they are. Sometimes frozen artichoke hearts still have tough outer leaves but these do not. A few squirts of lemon and a dash of finishing salt add mouth-watering appeal. It's not a pretty dish - very dark - so you will need to garnish it well. Worth the effort.

EGGPLANT JUGGLE*

©2010 Phyllis Segura

2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, large dice

1 medium eggplant, large dice

1 fennel bulb, large dice

leafy part of fennel tops, chopped

10-12 artichoke pieces, Trader Joe’s frozen artichokes

2-3 garlic cloves, sliced

½ cup diced sundried tomatoes in oil

3-4 tablespoon flat-leafed parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish

1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced (optional)

2 teaspoons Syrian Zatar

red pepper flakes

honey or agave nectar

sea salt

fresh lemon juice

Saute the onion in the heated olive oil. Add the eggplant and fennel with some of the chopped leafy part of the tops, then the garlic pieces. Add the sundried tomatoes and some of the oil, and all of the artichokes. Stir and toss to get all the pieces amalgamated, oiled and heated. Stir in a sprinkle of the Zatar and few red pepper flakes, the chopped parsley, and a squirt or two of honey or agave nectar, your choice. Add a pinch of salt. Stir well for about 2-3 minutes.

Add about ¼ cup of water then lower the heat and cover to let the vegetables steam briefly. Either continue cooking slowly on top of the stove or place in a

300˚F. oven well covered for about 1-1-1/2 hours to braise slowly.

Taste and season.

Serve hot or room temperature with a squirt or two of fresh lemon juice and some freshly chopped parsley.

*Juggle: rearrange adroitly

This is what Eggplant Juggle looks like with a wreath of parsley and lemon.

DINNER PARTY
I am getting ready for a dinner party for 9 on Saturday. It's a 60th birthday dinner for a woman whose daughter has lots of allergies and the decision was to accommodate the daughter. A lot more allergies and dislikes of this and that showed up while assembling the menu. It's all workable. I will try and take some photographs but frequently I get too busy to do that...

It's now a week later and the dinner went off well. The people were really nice and seemed to be enjoying each others company and having a good time.

Here is the menu:

Hors d'oeuvres:
Butternut Squash Bites with Arugula Pesto/ Grilled and Marinated Baby Eggplants/ Bell Pepper, Goat cheese and Prosciutto Pinwheels/Cranberry Bean Puree with Celery
Salad:
Composed Salad of Mesclun, Frisee, Radicchio, Avocado, Slow-cooked Tomatoes, Fennel/Citrus Vinaigrette
Starter:
Lemony Quinoa stuffed Artichokes
Entree:
Chicken Marbella (clients choice), Diced Roasted Vegetables (Cauliflower, Parsnips, Potatoes, Celery Root, Brussels Sprouts, Zucchini, Sweet Potato with Leek Crisps)
Palate Cleanser:
Pear and Ginger Granita
Cheeses:
Artisanal Rocky Sage Goat
Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog -Goat
Rosey Goat with Rosemary/Spain
Sotto il Fieno - Sheep
Istara - Sheep
with Tomato-Apple Chutney and Forest Honey