Using The Chocolate Set!

While I was growing up, my mother had a chocolate set given to her by her mother - it was a wedding present to my grandparents. I thought it was the most beautiful, fragile thing I'd ever seen. Over the years my mother did make use of the set and serve me hot chocolate once or twice, but mostly it sat in the china cupboard with the other Limoges Haviland, untouched. One day, when I was in my early thirties, she decided it should come to my house because I had loved it so much over the years and she also knew I would made use of it much more than she.

I have used it over the years, not as often as I wish I had, but a couple of weeks ago I saw a recipe for 'Alcoholic Hot Chocolate' by Nigella Lawson - while the name turned me off, the recipe sounded delightful. Since the resident bartender usually makes our weekend lavish drink experiments, Roy offered to make the renamed "Rummed Hot Chocolate" for us and I ran for the Chocolate Set.

We sat in the front courtyard on a Sunday morn drinking our chocolate in the style that my Grandmother would have been so proud!

Rummed Hot Chocolate
Nigella Lawson recipe

2 cups milk
3 1/2 ounces best-quality dark chocolate -- bittersweet or semisweet, as preferred
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum -- or to taste

Put the milk into a saucepan and break the chocolate into pieces and add to the milk along with a cinnamon stick, honey, and sugar and heat gently until the chocolate is melted.

Add the vanilla and mix with a small hand whisk and still whisking, add a spoonful of the rum first and taste to see if you want more. Add more sugar if you want this sweeter, too. Take out the cinnamon stick and pour into 2 cappuccino or caffe latte cups.

-------

I'm promising myself we will use the Chocolate Set and this hot chocolate often this coming winter!!!

...And More Fun In The Kitchen

Just a P.S. to the Crab, Shrimp & Scallop Roulade posting - The goop from 'sieving' the onions from the sauce was too tasty to discard, so added back to some leftover sauce and made Mac & Cheese. I would do this again as the main recipe - it was just delicious.

and served with the roulades - great combination, altho one roulade would be plenty!

MORNAY SAUCED MAC & CHEESE

2 1/2 Tablespoons butter
3 1/2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk, 2% lowfat, heated
Salt & white pepper
couple grindings of nutmeg
1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated
8 ounces onion, finely diced and simmered for 15 minutes in 2 T. butter and set aside
1/3 cup cracker crumbs or panko
2 Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Melt butter in a saucepan; blend in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to make a smooth paste. Stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes without coloring. Remove from heat.

After the bubbling subsides, add 1 3/4 cup of the hot milk and whisk briskly to make a smooth sauce and blend thoroughly. Put back over moderate heat and add the rest of the milk a few drops at a time to desired consistency. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Whisk in salt, pepper and nutmeg - tasting as you add the spices.
Remove from heat and let cool several minutes before adding the cheese.
When cooler, add the cheese and the onions; stirring until cheese is melted. At this point you can chill the sauce for later use, or freeze it, or add to pasta at this time.

Pour into a greased baking dish and top with a sprinkling of cracker crumbs or panko and dabs of butter
Bake in a 350 F. oven for 30-35 minutes.

Description:
"This dish was a by-product of making the Crab, Prawns & Scallop Roulades for Don Kaiser. It's wonderful."
---------

On top of all the cooking/testing/tasting Roy & I did on Wednesday - Neighbor Neery brot over two crabs (of the 16!!) she and the boys caught this day. Managed to clean them and threw in the frig for tomorrow - No more cooking today!

And so to Thursday and more fun. Wednesday, I received a C.D. from Lorraine, that was just a hoot. Two Toronto Chefs speakingFrench demonstrating recipes. The name of the CD is "Au pied de cochon" which my handy-dandy little translator says "with the foot of pig".......will have to find out more about this from Lorraine, plus the names of the two chefs who are an absolute hoot!

Willl have a lot of editing to do if I don't have this info correct - but, everything is in French and I barely got thru one year of Latin in high school.... The chefs are (apparently?) David Emmanual Fafard and Jean-Francois Boily and because they so inspired me, I only managed to get thru one recipe on the c.d. -

Le Saumon

dans le Papier Journal

Salmon wrapped in Newspaper

It looked so fun (and tasty), I headed for the freezer and neighbor Christine's salmon that she gave me months ago to 'do something' with! This is what I copied from the sub-titles -

Bake the salmon at 400 F. for 20 minutes per pound of salmon 'roast'

Sprinkle with sea salt and fill cavity with something - the boys used pesto.

Soak four sheets (with no color) in some water

Wrap the salmon up tightly and lay on a baking sheet

Place in the middle of the 400 F. oven for 1 hour (I cut my 'roast' to 3 lbs.); remove from oven and let rest before unwrapping.

I made this in the a.m. and did not make any kind of sauce to present this dish with, so it's not a really pretty presentation - but, it was delicious and Roy and I picked at it for nearly an hour!

While picking on the salmon, I had to do something with the crabmeat from yesterday -

Crab & Corn Fritters
Ray’s BoatHouse restaurant in Seattle

2-3 qts. canola oil for frying
1 cup a.p. flour
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup crabmeat
1/2 cup each: corn kernels, diced red bell pepper & diced green onions

Heat oil to 350 F.

In mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, white pepper, granulated garlic, cayenne pepper and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, butter, crabmeat, corn, bell pepper and green onion and mix well.

Add to dry ingredients and mix with a fork until just combined. Do not overmix.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into hot oil Cook until fritters are golden brown and fully cooked on the inside, about 3 – 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. sambal oelek
2 T. water
2 T. Thai fish sauce

In a small bowl, whisk together everything except the fish sauce. Then add fish sauce and stir just until combined.

I have to say after all the tasting we did between the salmon and the fritters, dinner was not looking too good, but I had sirloins thawed out for a couple of days and had to use them. So, went ahead and made the Gingered Tomato Chutney to go with the grilled steaks - instead of Roasted Dijon potatoes I had planned, we ate MORE of the fritters with the steak!

The chutney is from Cuisine at Home, issue #65 - I liked it very much, Roy could not stay out of it!

for one cup chutney:

1 1/2 ccups cherry tomatoes, halved, divided

1/4 cup red onion, diced

2 T. white wine vinegar

2 T. fresh ginger, minced

2 tsp. garlic, minced

3 T. fresh lime juice

2 tsp. tomato paste

2 tsp. jalapeno, seeded, minced

salt to taste

Simmer 1 cup of the tomatoes, onion, sugar, vinegar, ginger, and garlic in a saucepan over med-high heat, stirring often, 12 minutes.

Add lime juice and tomato paste, return to a boil, and simmer 3 minutes or till thickend to jam consistency.

Stir in remaining tomatoes, jalapeno, and salt. Set chutney aside. Grill the steaks and top them with the chutney. Roasted Dijon Potatoes are good to serve with this dish.

Today is Friday and now it's time to put the rest of the salmon in the oven for Marlene's Oven Smoked Salmon - it's been brining with brown sugar, kosher salt, and liquid smoke since last evening - but, this is the only cooking I'm doing today!!! Going to a movie and out to dinner tonight!!

CRAB, PRAWN & SCALLOP ROULADES

My good friend Don Kaiser called last nite to describe a dish that a friend (or brother?) of his had seen on TV – a filled piece of fish, stuffed with crab, prawns and scallops, and had a sauce that might have been a hollandaise sauce. I think that’s all Don knew about the dish and wanted to know how he should put it together.

So, this morning I got to play. Don is not crazy about hollandaise sauce, so that was out. From thinking about it in the middle of the damn night, I knew pretty much what I wanted the ‘stuffing’ to be. That just left the sauce to really play with.

This will be a very easy dish to make for company, because all the stages can be done ahead of time and chilled and/or even frozen.

Crab, Prawns and Scallop Roulades

The filling:
1/2 cup leeks, the white and the light green part, cleaned and minced (2 oz.)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. butter (clarified, if you have it)
1/4 cup bell pepper, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine or Noilly Prat
Salt and pepper
3 oz. crab meat
3 oz. prawns, coarsely chopped
3 oz. bay scallops, cut in half
1 1/2 T. capers, chopped
The white sauce:
2 1/2 T. butter
3 1/2 T. flour
2 cups milk
Salt and white pepper
Couple grinding of nutmeg
-----
1/2 cup gruyere cheese
8 oz. onion, finely diced
2 T. butter, again clarified if possible
4 filets of fish (cod, sole, halibut or a firm fleshed fish of your choice)
1/4 cup dry white wine or Noilly Prat
4 thin lemon slices

The filling:
Sauté leeks and garlic in butter until soft, but not browned, 3-4 minutes.
Add the bell pepper and wine; raise the heat and simmer until liquid is almost gone, about 3 min. Season lightly with salt & pepper.

Add the seafood and cook until the shrimp is just turning pink and the scallops are cooked. (If using cooked crab, do not add yet.)
Add the crab, if using cooked and the capers; just heat through. Remove from heat.

At this point, you can put in bowl and chill until ready to use. Can be done one day ahead.

The White Sauce:
Melt butter in a 2 1/2 qt. saucepan; blend in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to make a smooth paste. Stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes without coloring. Remove from heat.

After the bubbling subsides add 1 3/4 cups of the milk and whisk briskly to make a smooth sauce and blend thoroughly. Put back over moderate heat and add the rest of the milk a few drops at a time. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Whisk in the salt, pepper and nutmeg – tasting as you add the spices. At this point you can chill the sauce for later use. You can even freeze it.

When ready to use, thaw or remove from the refrigerator and heat in a double boiler or over a bain-marie. You may have to thin a little with milk.

After the sauce has heated, remove the from the heat and let cool several minutes, then add the gruyere cheese, a little at a time, stirring well between additions.

Simmer the finely diced onion in the 2 T. of butter without browning for 15 minutes. Add to the sauce and combine well. Force through a sieve.

To complete the dish, lay out the 4 filets and sprinkle each with a little salt, then spoon 1/4 of the filling on each filet, roll up being careful to push the filling in as you go. Secure with toothpicks.

Spray a baking dish with pam and pour the 1/4 cup white wine in the bottom of the dish. Lay the fish bundles seam side down, or stand up in the baking dish. Lay one thin slice of lemon over each roulade. Bake uncovered in at 350°F. oven for 30-35 minutes until the fish flakes when prodded with a paring knife.

To plate: spoon a little of the sauce on a plate and lay slices of the roulade on the sauce, adding a little more sauce to the top.

It was very, very good!! Now, I hope Don likes it also!!

P.S. Could not stand to throw the 'goop' from the sieve away - it had a great flavor, so cooked up some Campenelle, tossed with the goop and added a tad more of leftover sauce. Now, that's going to be good!!

I had intended to make a Mornay sauce, but I kept coming back to a Soubise sauce, so it's kind of a bastardized-Mornay/Soubise sauce. Whatever we call it, it is delicious.

Hangtown Fry....Finally!!

Since my twenties, my mother was fascinated with the Hangtown Fry, but for some reason she never made the dish. I probably didn't help the effort much because in those days, I was not a fan of oyters as I am today. Having just gotten her old recipe books (clipped recipes and handwritten treasures) and going thru them, my interest was piqued and this morning I made the dish for the first time. I did a little research first to try to get as close to the authenic recipe as possible and I think, I found it. Here's a little of the history and lore of Hangtown Fry from Placerville, CA
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hangtown Fry History

Hangtown fry could possibly be the first California cuisine. It consists of fried breaded oysters, eggs, and fried bacon, cooked together like an omelet. In the gold-mining camps of the late 1800s, Hangtown Fry was a one-skillet meal for hungry miners who struck it rich and had plenty of gold to spend. Live oysters would be brought to the gold fields in barrels of sea water after being gathered in and around San Francisco Bay. Such a meal cost approximately $6.00, a fortune in those days.

However it came to be, ordering a Hangtown Fry became a mark of prosperity for gold-rich miners, the status symbol of the day. The recipe swept the entire Northwest Territory, from California to Seattle, in the mid-1800s. A few drinks and a Hangtown Fry were considered a gentleman's evening.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Start out the dish by frying two slices of bacon (for 2 servings), cut them in half and set aside keeping warm. Bread, eggwash, bread again 3-4 small oysters per person; fry these in clarified butter. Add two slices of bacon per omelet in the pan with the oysters, placing them like railroad tracks in the pan.

Mix together two eggs (per person again) with seasoning & a little milk and pour over the oysters and bacon. Cook slowly until eggs are set and lightly browned. During the cooking, lift the cooked eggs to let the uncooked part run underneath onto the hot pan.

To serve, fold in half and slip onto a hot platter. Serve French fried potatoes as an accompaniment. (Next time, I think I'll serve as a frittata, not folded, so I can get the effect of the beautiful fried oysters and the 'rail road' bacon strips.) This was wonderful and I so wish my mother was at a place she could have enjoyed this dish with us also. Hangtown Fry is a wonderful, historical dish.

This week also saw the first of the '07 rhubarb crop, thanks to our neighbor, Kemp! Within two hours of picking a cobbler with a puff pastry topping was in the oven - oh my, was it delicious. I just combined sugar, cornstarch and salt with the rhubarb and put in a pie dish and topped it.

I also tried a "Seared Seafood and Wasabi Salad" - Saturday night. Didn't really care for the completed dish, but the Wasabi Vinaigrette was wonderful and especially good brushed on the cod filets and portabellos that I grilled to top the salad. Will definitely repeat this. (this vinaigrette was very good tossed with the rice noodles also)

Wasabi Vinaigrette

1/4 c rice wine vinegar

1/4 c soy sauce

2 T. Wasabi paste

2 T. brown sugar

1 piece ginger root (1") - peeled and minced

1 large clove garlic, miced

1/4 c dark sesame oil

1/4 c corn oil

Combine rice wine vinegar and wasabi paste; stir till smooth.

Add soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger.

Combine the corn oil and sesame oil and in a slow steady stream, incorporate the oils into the other ingredients to form an emulsion. (a food processor can be used) This vinaigrette can be made up to 3 days ahead of using.

All in all, it was a nice week of cooking - Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Bread, Buttermilk-Brined Pork Chops, Home made Creme Fraiche and Chocolate Creme Fraiche Ice Cream - will try Grandma Fry's chocolate ice cream custard method next time trying to incorporate chocolate into an ice cream base.....

Also, made Three-Sster Stew from a packet I picked up at the Portland Farmer's Market - it's a Native American Blend and the stew was wonderful. Checked out the website and there was an Enchilada recipe using the same seasoning packet that looked very good!

Cynthia and I have pushed through an Ethiopian Dinner to be reviewed April 30th.

A Weekend with the Burrs

Company coming means another batch of 18-hour bread!! Roy starts salivating as soon as the bread mixture begins fermenting and looking breadlike.



Our friends, Joyce & Bill Burr came to visit this weekend - Joyce is a realtor, still working and Bill has recently retired from a company who did business with Roy for years. We four have been friends for a number of years and always have a ball when we get together - especially because Bill is a wonderful cook, who never shys away from a good recipe or food. So, we are two peas in a pod.





Friday nite's dinner was done in the manner that I really prefer the last couple of years. Nothing is done at the same time. We have an appy, then we visit, then comes a soup or salad, then we visit, then the entree, then we...... Besides being so easy because no multiple dishes have to be correctly timed and completed at the same, it's just more fun do a dinner party this way. Sometime we have the appetizers in the living room around the fire, move into the kitchen around the island for soup or salad and finally to the dining room for the main course. I so loved Morris's Buttermilk Blue Cheese Creme Fraiche on the Sweet Potato & Pear Soup, I copied it for my Butternut Squash Soup and was that ever a hit! I love the combination - and the sprinkling of (fresh ;) ) bacon bits mixed with a little duck cracklin's - super! The Creme Fraiche is a method that June Jacob's gave me and it's so easy and tastey. I just added Roquefort cheese to taste and used it as a garnish for the soup.

CREME FRAICHE - HOW TO MAKE (June Jacobs)

2 cups whipping (heavy) cream preferably NOT ultra-pasteurized
1/4 cup buttermilk -- room temperature

1. Warm cream in heavy small saucepan to lukewarm (85 degrees F). Remove from heat and mix in buttermilk. Put the mixture into a clean glass jar (that has a tight-fitting lid), Leave the jar open and cover with a piece of waxed paper fastened with a rubber band. Let it stand in a warm draft-free area until slightly thickened, 24 to 48 hours, depending on temperature of room.

2. When the cream has "clotted," remove the paper and replace it with the lid. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Teacher's Tip Stored in this manner, the Crème Fraîche should keep until you've used it up (and made more!) Like fine cheese, it may develop a "skin", but you can remove it and use what's underneath.
---------------------
Well, murphy's law - my heavy cream WAS ultra-pastuerized and the only buttermilk on the shelves around here was/is reduced fat/1 1/2% milkfat/50%less fat than whole milk!!!
But, it works beautifully!

Decided to go with it and see what would result - oh my, it is delicious, creamy, beautiful creme fraiche. I left it 30 hours.

June’s notes: - it WHIPS!!! so when you want that great tang on a strawberry shortcake, you can have it fluffy!

As well, it doesn't break if it gets boiled the way sour cream does, so it's great for finishing sauces.
-----
June
06/03/05 08:00 PM
I regularly make crème fraiche with heavy cream and buttermilk, so I keep it in a quart jar. Here's the recipe:
makes about 2 cups.

The entree was penne sauced with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (recipe from Kevin/UptownKevin, a friend from C2C - and this is the story of why we had the same thing two nights in a row...


Well, I must say I am so proud of myself - and what a fun time I had Thursday! I had dinner all planned - Three Sisters Stew (meatless), with a Native American Spice packet, that I tasted and picked up 2 packets of at the Portland Farmer's Market. It was delicious - but that's another story, for when I DO make it...

Roy was whining about a veggie dinner (see above... ) so thot I'd surprise him with a shrimp appy. I had a recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce that I’d been wanting to try, so we had - oven-roasted shrimp and drizzled this sauce over them - wonderful.

I also had just cleaned the above two ducks and was really wanting to do something with the scraps, etc. Had some of the cream sauce left over from the shrimp - so cooked up a little pasta.

Fried one slice of diced bacon and removed, added the small pcs. of duck scraps and seasoned floured pcs. of liver (just used about 6 slices, cause I HAVE NEVER CARED FOR LIVER) and fried those up.

On to plating - tossed the pasta with the cream sauce and put in bowls, topped with slices of the duck and liver and sprinkled with bacon and bits of the cracklins from rendering the duck fat. Oh My, was that wonderful!!! and for the first time in my life I loved the fried liver!!!!!

Now, I've scraped my entire menu, almost, for dinner Friday night with the Burrs. I'm going to do this all again, but I'll serve the pasta, sauce and liver slices with the sautéed duck breasts!!!

And, this story is a little bittersweet because my mother and I battled all my life about me not willing to eat liver...and now that I have enjoyed it, I want to tell her so much, but it won't really mean anything to her where her mind is now...damn.

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce - with Shrimp or Duck

1 large shallot -- minced
4 cloves garlic -- minced
2 large red peppers -- roasted
1 ½ to 2 cups half & half or heavy cream (I naturally used heavy cream... )
Butter
Extra Virgin Olive oil
S&P
Cayenne pepper, just a pinch or to taste

Roast the red pepper, peel, de-seed and dice.

Coat a sauté pan with olive oil & butter, and sweat the shallot and diced red pepper on low heat.

After several minutes, add the garlic and season with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and cayenne.

Once garlic has been cooked, pour mixture into a blender, add heavy cream and puree. Pour the mixture back into the pan and add additional cream if needed. Let the sauce reduce for approximately 10 min. on low heat, stirring often.

Season again if needed.

Now, back to Friday nite - I made more sauce and tossed it with the penne and served it topped with duck cracklin's and fried duck liver slices. Served along side pan-seared duck breasts. Dessert was slices of Glazed Chocolate/Pumpkin Loaf.

Saturday, off to Port Townsend for eating, wine tasting and shopping! I picked up a lot of fun things at the Food Co-op:
- Teff Flour, for Cis's and my fledgling passions for Ethiopian foods.
- lots of chocolate for the pantry and some for Saturday's dessert.
- a new snack folks were raving about at the Co-op that I've never seen before - Sahale's Sing Buri (cashew, pineapple, peanut, lemongrass, chinese chili) and Sahale's Socorro Blend (macadamia, hazelnut, mango papya, chipolte). Haven't opened them yet.
- Sour Cherries to try out the wonderful Bittersweet chocolate braised rabbit and griottines (sour cherries) - another goodie from Morris' restaurant.

On the way home, we picked up clams, mussels, prawns, a crab and Asiago Potato bread in addition to a few bottles of wine from the Wine Sellar in P.T. Found some bargains and some old favorties - temperanillo! and a few others.

Sunday morning, I wanted to use some of the leftover crab and prawns, and while searching the Bed & Breakfast website, found a dish that sounded awfully good - from the Greenhouse Bed and Breakfast, "Guia's Crabmeat Au-Gratin - and it lived up to expectations, it's a keeper!

Served the Au-Gratin over toasted slices of 18-hour bread - wonderful!




Guia's Crabmeat Au-Gratin presented by Greenhouse Bed and Breakfast
Can be served over buttered toast or as a brunch casserole.
6 tbsp. butter
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
6 tbsp. chopped parsley
1/4 cup red sweet bell pepper diced small
2 tbsp. flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup milk
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp. dry sherry
2 lbs. crabmeat (it certainly does not need this much! I used one pound - a combination of prawns and crabmeat)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. paprika
2 tsp cayenne (optional) (I just sprinkled some over)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a medium skillet melt butter and sauté the onions, pepper and parsley for about 4 minutes. Add the flour all at once and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Turn the heat to simmer. Add the softened cream cheese. Stir until combined. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until smooth.

Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the sherry.
Place the crabmeat in a large greased ovenproof casserole dish and pour the milk mixture over it. Fold gently to combine.

Sprinkle with parmesan, cayenne, and paprika. Bake for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling.
Serves 8.

This was another wonderful time with Bill & Joyce. Next time will be at their house and Bill will be making Singapore Slings for us - says he has the best recipe ever for them......(to be continued.....)

DINNER AT VESTA'S

Oh, what a night we had at Scottie's (aka Morris) new restaurant, Vesta's!!!

We started the evening early feeding the geese at Don's floating home, which is gorgeous with a kitchen to make any cook green-eyed envious! We also had a bottle of wine....

We arrived a little early for our 7 p.m. reservations...signed anxious.

Morris started us off in grand style with an Oyster Mignonette - absolutely wonderful flavor (he must have an oyster bed outside the back door). This was followed by two courses of a selection of cheeses we could have made a dinner of... Sotto Cenere (cow's milk cheese with truffle), a smoked sheep's milk cheese, and a Blue Valdeo cow & goat blend cheese. All three were wonderful. Nathan, our 'cheese guy' was so informative on the cheeses and patient with me as I tried to copy down all the info I possibly could.

This was to be our little nest for the evening - and Laura made sure all was well for us here. We were so proud to hear we were the first to be invited to the Chef's Table!! Bird's eye view of a fine tuned, orchestrated kitchen crew.

Pacific Diver Scallops, 4th course, Indian Spiced Lentil Sauce - I've never thought of scallops as 'comfort food', but this dish was just straight comfort and wonderful.

Foie Gras Torchon in Duck Consomme, 5th course, braised duck leg, duck breast Tataki style style, duck prosciutto - Foie Gras has been growing on me since I first tried tasting it in Phoenix a few years ago and I'm hooked now because of Morris' dish - all of us could have licked the plate!! The consomme, oh my!!

Mache Lettuce Salad - 6th course, Silver Falls Goat Cheese, English Cucumber, Grand Marnier Macerated Berries, Roasted Hazelnuts, Pinot Grigio Vinaigrette. Just delicious and what a set up for our next course, which I think, all of us decided was the hit of the night!

Bitter Chocolate Braised Rabbit - 7th course, Thyme Papardelle, Wild Mushroom Ragout, Griottines (stoned and graded bitter red cherries in a light syrup of alcohol). I can not do justice to this dish in words, the flavors were just outstanding!!

Chef Gwyn's Silver Medal Sweet Potato and Pear Soup - 8th course, Buttermilk Blue Cheese Creme Fraiche, Pepper Bacon, the flavors of this soup with the garnishes were wonderful and trying to get a little of everything in each spoonful, difficult!

AND THEN, and then....the entrees - I'm just sorry we weren't a party of eleven so we could taste each and every entree offered!!

My 9th course...Merlot and Plum Glazed Rack of Lamb - honey mustard roasted banana fingerling potatoes, caramelized Cippolini onions - fantastic!

Roy's 9th course...Forest Mushroom Stuffed Veal Chop - lemon thyme spatzle, celery root puree, stone fruit chutney, Amaretto huckleberry demi - fantastic!

Don's 9th course...Banyuls Glazed Braised Rolled Pork Roast - sweet potato mash, savoy cabbage with chestnuts - fantastic!

At this point we collectively decided we would have to wait to try the desserts another visit - there was absolutely no way we could eat one more morsel...but Morris had other plans -

Caramel pot de creme
chocolate sorbet, toasted marshmallow

Chocolate Amaretto Mousse with Vanilla Ice Cream

caramel bourbon sauce, caramelized banana

(Roy and I would have liked more of this one, but Don was rather selfish....the plate all but licked clean!

By the third dessert, I think my camera was over full also - the picture didn't take -

Layered Apple Spice Cake, Mulled Cider Ice-Cream Float

apple & caramel puree, honey cream cheese frosting, vanilla ice cream, apple chip. Wonderful! The float was just the perfect ending to a perfect evening with Morris!

Morris, I wish I had a better command of the English language to be able to do justice to the wonderful food you presented us with tonight!! 2nd Sous, Zack, here's a young chef who is like a mad scientist in his kitchen - don't think he'll be second much longer, he was a delight to watch in the kitchen! I would have loved to have spent more time with Chef de Cuisine Gwyn Manney, but she was working her tail off getting ready for Easter brunch!!! Morris, Gwyn, Zack, Laura, Nathan and and everyone else boh and foh - thank you all for one of the most delightful dinners and evenings we have ever experienced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm so full after just writing about this dinner, I'm surpised I can continue, but I just must - Morris has created a children's menu which is so creative and fun, I would grab a kid off the street and bring 'em in to try this menu out!! Just a couple of examples -

Burger Trio - "Three small burgers with all the fixins on the side so you can make them how you like." (we saw a number of these flying out of the kitchen - I wanted to order them!)

Peanut Butter Pizza - "A soft dough circle spread with peanut butter. Comes with raisins, bananas and jelly to decorate however you want." (would loved to have seen this one!)

Ocean Critter Sticks - "Rainbow Treasures fish shapes made of trout i fun ocean shapes with artichoke tartar sauce"

Does Morris have a winner here??? You bet - what a place and what a team!!

A WeekNite Dinner Review

These are all Cuisine at Home recipes and they are wonderful!

Seared Flank Steak w/Shallot-Mustard Sauce
Oven Fries with Lemon-Fennel Salt
Green Salad with Feta and Fresh Fruit

1 flank steak, about 1-1/2 lb.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. corn oil
6 Tbs. cold unsalted butter (4 Tbs. cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
3 Tbs. finely minced shallot
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup low-salt beef broth
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon

Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Season the steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat an ovenproof 12-inch sauté pan over high heat until very hot. Add the oil to coat the pan and sear the steak on one side until well browned, about 1-1/2 minutes. Flip with tongs and cook until the second side is well browned, about another 2 minutes.

Put the pan in the oven and roast until the steak is cooked to your liking, 5 to 7 minutes for medium rare. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest, lightly covered with foil, while you make the sauce.

Set the same skillet over medium heat and add 2 Tbs. of the butter. When the butter melts, add the shallot and garlic and cook until soft and translucent but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium high, and boil until syrupy, 2 to 4 minutes.

Add the broth and thyme and boil until about 1/3 cup of liquid remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the mustard. (Don’t let the sauce boil after the mustard is added.) Stir in the 4 Tbs. butter cubes, a few at a time.

Stir in half the tarragon and season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.With a sharp knife, slice the steak thinly across the grain on the diagonal, drizzle with the sauce, and sprinkle with remaining tarragon.

We enjoyed the flavor of the steak with the Shallot-Mustard sauce. My Flank Steak was very large and 5 minutes in the oven brought it to the exact rare-to medium rare that we prefer. Leftover steak went into Fajitas wiht Pico de Gallo.

----------

Oven Fries

2 lg russet potatoes about 1 3/4 pounds peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/4 -1/2” sticks.
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon-Fennel Salt

Put the sliced potatoes in cold water to rinse off starch. Remove potatoes after about a minute and drain. Dump water and refill with enough to cover the potatoes by 1 1/2 inches and add some kosher salt.

Put a baking sheet in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 450. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it comes to a boil turn the heat down so they simmer for about 3 minutes. Gently drain and place on paper towels to dry. Place in a bowl and gently toss with the olive oil.

Remove pan from oven and arrange the potatoes quickly on the sheet pan leaving about 1/2 inch between slices. Roast for about 15 minutes, turn fries over and roast again for about 6-8 minutes and turn again till nicely brown. Total cook time is about 30 minutes. Finish with Lemon
Fennel Salt.

Lemon Fennel Salt –
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 heaping tsp. white peppercorns
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Toast fennel, coriander and peppercorns in a small dry skillet over med. heat until fragrant, about 2 mins. Pour into a mortar or spice grinder and grind till a fine powder. In a small dish combine the lemon zest and salt with the spices.

The oven fries with their Lemon Fennel Salt was a real winner!! I kept the salt mixture and will use it on lots of dishes, but the fries will definitely be a repeat and soon!
-------

Green Salad
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch white sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 avocados - peeled, pitted, and cubed
4 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, sugar, parsley, lemon juice and garlic. Add the avocado, and stir to coat with the dressing.

Just before serving, add the salad greens, and toss to coat with dressing. Sprinkle sliced almonds and feta cheese over the top. You can add sliced pears or tangerines supremes.

The salad was nice, just nothing to write home about, but with toasted almonds and feta, it can't have been too bad!!
-------------
and for dessert - this wonderful pie!

Lemon Buttermilk Pie with Strawberry Topping 1

For the Lemon Buttermilk Pie - Whisk Together:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 T. all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 t. vanilla extract
Minced zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 Pinch salt

Pour into:
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

For the Strawberry Topping - Heat -- Pour over:
1/4 cup honey
Juice of 1 lime
2 pints strawberries -- hulled, halved

Preheat oven to 350°.

Whisk pie ingredients together in a large bowl until blended.
Pour into pie shell and place on a baking sheet. Bake until filling is just set, yet still a bit jiggly, 40 - 50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature; chill if not serving right away. (Let chilled pie stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.)

Heat honey and lime juice for strawberry topping until melted. Pour over berries and let stand at least 5 minutes. Just before serving, arrange on pie with a slotted spoon.
Cuisine at home, April 2004, Issue 44, p. 49

When I served the strawberries, I spooned them to the side of the slice of pie so we could enjoy the wonderful flavor of the berries, honey and lime. What a wonderful combination of flavors.

***************************
On to the 2nd Cod dish - from the cod from our little fisherman neighbor. This is an old Gourmet mag. recipe and I almost overlooked it because it just looked too bland, but I had everything for it, so I went ahead and made it. It turned out to be a wonderful comfort dish that is worth making and repeating!! The flavors are just perfect together. I had a bottle of L'Ecole No. 41, '05 "Walla Voila" Chenin Blanc to serve with it and it was an excellent match!!

COD, POTATO, AND FENNEL CASSEROLE

2 medium fennel bulbs (sometimes called anise; 1 1/2 lb total), stalks cut off and discarded, and fronds reserved for garnish if desired
1 1/2 lb large boiling potatoes
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 lb skinless cod fillet (1 inch thick), cut into 6 portions

Garnish: chopped fennel fronds or fresh flat-leaf parsleyAccompaniment: lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut fennel bulbs crosswise into 1/16-inch-thick slices with slicer. Peel potatoes and cut crosswise into 1/16-inch-thick slices with slicer.

Transfer fennel and potatoes to baking dish and toss with garlic, salt, pepper, and 4 tablespoons oil. Spread vegetables evenly in dish and bake, covered with foil, in middle of oven until just tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

Season fish with salt and pepper and arrange on top of vegetables. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and bake, uncovered, until fish is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.

My dish of potatoes/fennel was fairly deep, so it took a total of 45 minutes to cook thru. Served with roasted Asparagus with Balsami and Olive oil - Very nice!
********************************
Very nice few days of cooking and eating - but, very lazy when it came to the camera - do better!!