10_0421 | dinner party deux...

So last week I had some friends over for yet another dinner party.  The food was interesting and delicious and the company as great as ever.  Special thanks to April and Claire for braving uncharted territory and clearing their plates!  I started with some very easy appetizers: sliced pears with creme fraiche and candied pecans.  

Bartlett pear slices with creme fraiche and candied pecans

Next we moved on to the salad course where I served [again] my cucumber pepper salad.  I just can't get enough of that salad.  What's not to like?!  It's got cucumber, bacon, and bell peppers. Bacon, dear readers.  Bacon.

Cucumber pepper salad

For the soup course I actually did something unprecedented and used someone else's recipe!  [I know, how dare I].  I have always wanted to make a French onion soup and found a recipe here: The Best French Onion Soup Ever! that I thought sounded exceptional and it did not disappoint.  Unfortunately, I was so excited about the soup I forgot to take any pictures.  E-pic fail!  [Punny, I know].  

The main course was a 'Moroccan' chicken recipe I concocted.  I say Moroccan because it really has little to do with Morocco, but the flavors might be indicative of that region of the world.  I served it on a bed of Israeli couscous [decidedly not Moroccan] that I had cooked in coffee.

Moroccan chicken and coffee-cooked Israeli couscous.

Lastly, we finished with the vanilla bean ice cream in the chocolate cups from my previous post [10_0414 | chocolate grenades...]  I made a strawberry port sauce that was super tasty.  Just place a pound of sliced strawberries in a pot with a cup and a half of port and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and let it simmer until reduced by half.  Blend the remaining mixture then reduce again by half or until the desired thickness.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve to get all the seeds out and viola! you've got a very tasty sauce.

All the recipes are available on my recipes page.  If you'd like your own special dinner for you and yours, check out the hire me page and see how to do that.  I cook, I clean, I make your house smell amazing.

10_0414 | chocolate grenades...

So I tried my hand at being a dessert chef last night.  At a restaurant recently I had seen chocolate mousse served in cups made of chocolate.  In classic naivety, I asked: “How hard can it be?”  I did a little research to see if anyone had already undertaken this endeavor in their home kitchen.  I stumbled across this website:  bfeedme.com which outlined the process.  Afloat with knowledge, I went to the store.

Returning with a bag of 72% cacao Ghirardelli chocolate chips and water balloons, I was ready to become a patissier.  When working with chocolate, use a double boiler: it provides a mellower, more even heat to the chocolate perfect for things that need such heat.  I melted the chocolate and added some cayenne pepper to spice it up a little.  When the chocolate was melty enough, I removed from the heat and let it sit for five minutes as the website suggested.  I tested the chocolate…it was still hot to the touch.  Five more minutes.  Still hot.  Five more.  Still hot.  I then discovered the problem: the boiling water in the bottom pot was still heating the chocolate.  A quick dump in the sink removed the heat source and the chocolate began to cool after that.  When I thought it was cool enough [about five more minutes] I took my first balloon which I had blown up to an appropriate size and dipped away. 

A word of caution:  when introduced to a balloon filled with air, molten chocolate will effectively render the latex useless and turn that balloon into a chocolate grenade.  A grenade with a one meter kill zone.  Chocolate went flying everywhere.  I let the chocolate cool some more and tried again.  KAPOW!  More chocolate mist.  Two more tries at varying intervals provided the same result.  Chocolate coated every surface of my kitchen.  Ceiling, walls, cabinets, stove, face—you name it.  Tired of having my kitchen looking like Jackson Pollock had repainted, I remembered that water transfers heat less quicker than air and filled the balloons with ice water.  This significantly helps in the setting process of the chocolate as well as removing the likelihood of turning your kitchen into warzone.

My chocolate-dipped water balloons

A casualty of culinary curiosity.

Hard work pays off: vanilla bean ice cream canelles in the chocolate cups

with strawberry-port 'caviar' all drizzled with a strawberry-port sauce

If you plan on making your own cups, here’s a few tips:

• I found it best to freeze the cookie tray for about 10 minutes, that way you are putting the chocolate onto a cold surface.
• Put cold water in the balloons.
• Don’t forget the balloons are in the freezer!  I left mine in for about two hours only to discover they had frozen solid.  It was then a tricky process to remove the giant ice cubes from the cups.
• When draining the balloons, put a piece of tape on the balloon then push a pin through the tape.  This will keep the balloon from bursting.  Instead you get a stream of water as the balloon deflates.  If you’re thirsty, it’s ice cold water.  If you’re not, you better think quick!