It may be winter here in NE but the fresh herbs were abundant at our home on Saturday as we hosted a great dinner party with friends. The plan is this is the first of many to come in 2009 – a New Years resolution that we could actually keep – to make new friends, get to know the friends we have and spend more surrounded by good people. I really need to put someone in charge of taking pictures. It is really had to serve dinner and take photos. A few pics I took before the dinner and manage to sneak a pic of the salad just before everyone sat down. Here is our men and here are some photos. Many thanks to Rich, Colleen, Jen, Philip, Michelle and Shannon for being our guests. We loved your company!!
Menu
Appetizers served with Prosecco
Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini with Ricotta, Fresh Basil and Buckwheat Honey drizzle
Cheddar and Thyme Gougeres
Entree and Side Dishes
Roasted Asparagus Salad w/micro greens, lemon vinaigrette, fried sage leaves and Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese
Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb – leg of lamb roasted with lavender, rosemary and garlic
Herb Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Apple Cider Glazed Delicata Squash with Rosemary and Sage
Dessert
Apple Galette with Almond Cream served with Cinnamon Basil Ice Cream
Chocolate Layer Cake served with Lavender Vanilla Ice Cream
Roasted Asparagus Salad
Chocolate Cake which was served with Lavender Vanilla Ice Cream
Apple Galette with Almond Cream served with Cinnamon Basil Ice Cream
I keep trying to
take good photos but some days my amatuer photography skills are even worse! This photo isn’t the best but it is better than the others and I really liked this tasty appetizer and uses local ingredients and that makes it even better – not the tomatoes – those are coming from outside of New England. I can’t take credit for this recipe, my personal chef friend Christine Todaro (Fusion Personal Chef Services) told me she makes this appetizer and her clients love it. It’s quite simple – french bread sliced and spread with a little olive oil and rubbed with a garlic clove, spread a layer (not too thick) of ricotta cheese (I used Narragansett Creamery) over the bread and top with some fresh basil and roasted cherry tomatoes (I roasted the tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and fresh thyme sprigs) the final step is a drizzle of buckwheat honey. Buckwheat honey is dark in color and has a pungent malty flavor. When I tasted it I immediately thought of Buckwheat honey being the Guiness of honey!
My new banner photo has nothing to do with food and more about the beautiful area we live in. This photo was taken at Second Beach looking up over the dunes that head to the beach no one had walked up the path yet and snow continues to fall as I take the picture. Below the lifeguard chairs lay snow covered and waiting for the summer.
Today we made a trip to Providence to visit the winter farm market pick up some winter goodies. First stop was Matunuck Oyster as we have been craving oysters and Matunuck has the best around. Their oysters are clean, fresh tasting and briny. My husband was in charge of shucking and
this was the first time he has shucked oysters, it took awhile and for a moment I thought maybe we wouldn’t have them until the next day! But persistence prevailed and we quickly ate them down…much faster than than shucking!
Other vendors at the farm market were Farmstead Cheese, Cutie Pies, Olga’s Cup and Saucer bakery and my CSA – Simmons Farm
Other vendors at the farm market were Farmstead Cheese, Cutie Pies, Olga’s Cup and Saucer bakery, Narragansett Creamery and my CSA Simmons Farm! The winter farm market is coordinated and sponsored by Farm Fresh RI and is held at the Hope Artiste Village on Main Street in Pawtucket.
Thai Coconut Squash Soup
This soup came to be from having a craving for Thai and coconut and staring at some butternut squash and pumpkin hanging around in a basket on my kitchen counter. I roasted the butternut squash and pumpkin by cutting them half, rubbing with a little olive (butter is good too) and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Roasting will take about an hour for the squash to become caramelized and soft. Use the spices to your taste – I used about 6 teaspoons of red curry paste, but you may only like a little. My family is crazy about spices and if a dish they believe should be spicy…isn’t…well they consider it bland and start adding their own heat and sometimes Dave’s Insanity Sauce isn’t the appropriate source of spice. I really believe in playing with your spices – add a little ginger, add a little more curry paste and create the dish you want.
Orange and rosemary game hen with beluga lentil saute
Okay, so I mentioned to John Wood owner of the Green Grocer how much I really like Black Beluga Lentils and that I had been using them in several dishes and that the 1 pound bag wasn’t providing me with enough lentils. John said – no problem – I can special order a larger quantity. Well, this week during my demo John produced a HUGE 10 pound bag of these delicious little lentils….I hope I don’t drop the lentils like I did the sausage or the purple sticky rice bag that fell out off the shelf of pantry and scattered everywhere. A month later and swear I still find those grains. For those of you new to Beluga Lentils are the tiniest of the various lentils, they are easy and quick to cook. When cooked they are shiny and resemble caviar which makes them perfect for garnish. Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks created a great recipe using beluga lentils as a garnish on a crostini – 101 Cookbooks. In this dish, I used the lentils in a saute side dish served with a orange roasted Cornish game hen.
Tuscan Bean Soup
Warm and savory and perfect for a cold January day. Back to the Green Grocer after a short holiday break. Everyone loves a good soup to sample and this one is quick and easy to prepare and while the recipes indicates to use chicken broth you can easily use vegetable broth instead. This soup is also very good with a good crusty Italian bread or when I make for a client I will slice a good bread and spread a little olive, rug a garlic clove over the bread then sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and toast slightly.
