The dinner party that I have been waiting for for so long. Although the work was way too much for one person. Thank you George and Annie for being my chef slaves! I never thought that cooking so many things could take that long. Maybe I'm just slow because I like to sing while cooking. Dinner was a blast, even though the food was not as great as I expected. Everybody else "loved" it though, which I find to be weird. Maybe it's just a manner of politeness, or lack of taste buds. Either way it was fun. As an appetizer, I made a spicy guacamole and stuffed mushrooms.
Unfortunately, the only picture I have of the guacamole is in a picture of the whole table, with the full-course meal.
Stuffed Baby Bellas~ Serves 4-- Time: 45 total
16 baby portabella mushrooms
1 pound ground chicken or turkey breast (used ham as substitute)
1 teaspoon fennel seed, 1/3 palmful
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested
1 cup shredded asiago cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach
2 tbsp EVOO
Preparation:
1. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth. Remove the stems and finely chop them. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, fennel seed, onion, garlic, lemon zest, half of the cheese, the chopped mushroom stems, breadcrumbs and spinach and season with salt and pepper. Brush lightly with EVOO and stuff the mixture into the caps.
2. Arrange the caps on a rimmed baking sheet or in a baking dish. Leave some room around each mushroom to prevent the caps from getting steamy. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the nuts on the caps and transfer to the oven. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.
It was probably just me, but I was not a very big fan of these and I probably wouldn't be if they were made any different. Even though I'm crazy about mushrooms, it just didn't taste as appealing as a whole. That's just my opinion though.
Guacamole~
1/4 cup chopped onion
1-3 chopped serrano chiles (put in seeds if you want it to be spicy)
3/4 cup torn cilantro
3 Avocados
1 medium diced tomato
Preparation:
Pile the onion, serrano chiles, cilantro and a pinch of kosher salt on a cutting board. Chop, then mash into a paste with the flat side of a large knife. Transfer to a bowl, add 3 diced avocados and mash with a wooden spoon until combined but still chunky. Stir in 1 medium diced tomato and season with salt. Top with more tomato, cilantro and onion.
When buying avocados, look for hass avocados, which are brown and wrinkly. Also buy avocados that are slightly soft but not squishy.
The salad course for dinner was ratatouille. Ratatouille is a baked vegetable dish which is almost like a soup. In my dish, I was in a hurry and accidentally added lemon pepper instead of regular pepper, which changed the smell and taste by a whole level because of its intense scent. However, the ratatouille would have been great without the pepper mistake and a bit less cooking time.
Ratatouille~ Serves 6
2 medium eggplants
4-5 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 or 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large red or yellow bell pepper
2 large zucchini, sliced
1.5 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence salt
Preparation:
1. Preheat the broiler. Cut the eggplants into 3/4-inch slices, then brush with olive oil on both sides and broil until lightly browned, turning once. Cut the slices into cubes. Quarter the pepper and broil, skin-side up, until blackened. Let it cool and then peel off the skin. Remove the core and seeds and cut into strips.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan or flameproof casserole and cook the onion over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until lightly golden, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, pepper and zucchini and cook for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the tomatoes and eggplant cubes, dried herbs, salt and pepper and simmer gently, covered, over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue cooking for 20-25 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are tender and the cooking liquid has thickened slightly. Serve the ratatouille hot or at room temperature.
My ratatouille looked like this. Although it may not look very appetizing compared to the one in the movie, it still tastes fantastic.
For noodles, I made a dish called Noodle Kugel. It has noodles in a cottage cheese, sour cream and milk mixture while being topped with crispy baked noodles and corn flakes. I didn't have corn flakes though, and my mom wouldn't let me drive 2 minutes to Safeway even though I have a license...
Noodle Kugel~1 hr 20 min total. Serves 6-8
1 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon sugar
12 ounces wide egg noodles
3 large eggs
2 cups small-curd cottage cheese
2 cups sour cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 cups cornflakes, coarsely crushed
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 3-quart baking dish. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon sugar and cook until soft and golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, reserving the skillet.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the noodles and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain the noodles and add to the bowl with the onion mixture; season with salt and pepper.
3. Pulse the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, cinnamon, orange zest, the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until smooth. Add to the noodles and toss, then transfer the mixture to the prepared dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet over medium heat, add the cornflakes and toss. Sprinkle over the pasta and bake until just set, 35-40 minutes. Let rest 10 min before serving.
For the main course, I made cashew chicken. The chicken was a little dry and I did not add enough sauce to it. Otherwise, it would have been extremely good, with a side dish of rice.
Cashew Chicken~Serves 4-6
1 pound boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4 dried red chilies, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
pinch of sugar
1 bunch scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
1.5 cups cashews, roasted
cilantro leaves, to garnish
Preparation:
1. Remove and discard the skin from the chicken breasts. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a work and swirl it around. Add the garlic and dried chilies and fry until golden.
3. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it changes color, then add the red pepper. Add water if needed.
4. Stir in the oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Add the scallions and cashews. Stir-fry for about another 1-2 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.
The cashew chicken is the dish on the bottom.
As dessert, I made creme brulee again! But this time I put it in smaller bowls to maximize the crispy top. It tasted a lot better with more heavy cream. The recipe is in the last post. I also love the photography in this one; the clear creme brulee against a blurry background. I wish I could do that with my 60 dollar camera.
Photo Creds to Phoebe~ Thanks :] The photos look so much better than in my earlier posts!
