Sunday, August 1, 2010

Great Friends and Great Food



This evening we enjoyed dinner with our dear friends Andrea, Steve and Nathan.  Nathan's family is out of town and we missed having them there...next time!

Menu

White Truffle Portobello Bruschetta

2 large portobello caps, gills removed
2 tbsp. butter
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2-3 tbsp. white truffle oil

Heat butter in large pan (large enough to accommodate mushrooms without overcrowding) on med. high heat.  Add mushrooms and saute until caramelized.  Removed from heat and add cream cheese and oil.  Mix well, salt and pepper to taste.  Put one 2 tbsp. of mix onto grilled baguette.

 
Mixed Baby Greens with Parmesan Shells and Champagne Vinaigrette

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients until emulsified.

1 c. fresh grated parmigiano reggiano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put Parmesan on silpat in flattened circles (4" circumference).  Bake for about 7-9 minutes until cheese is starting to turn golden.  Remove from oven, allow to cool about one minute and gently remove from silpat and place over rolling pin to achieve a shell shape.  Allow to cool completely.

 
Grilled Pancetta Wrapped Shrimp with Chimichurri

2 pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 pound pancetta, thinly cut and cut in half


Wrap each shrimp with pancetta.  Place on skewers and lightly drizzle with olive oil.  Grill on medium heat for about 6-9 minutes per side depending on shrimp size. 


1 c. fresh italian parsley
1/c. fresh tarragon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


Mix parsley, tarragon and garlic in food processor and pulse well.  Add oil and vinegar and continue mixing until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.


 
Sweet Corn Cakes

4 ears fresh peaches and cream corn
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. chives, chopped
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
6 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. olive oil


Cook corn in boiling water for about 8-10 minutes.  Allow to cool and remove kernels.  Put kernels in large bowl, adding flour, sugar, cornmeal and baking soda.  Mix well until kernels are well coated.  Add egg, buttermilk, chives, salt and pepper and mix well.  Preheat large pan with butter and oil oil over med, high heat.  When oil is hot add one large scoop full of mix and slightly flatten.  Cook about 2-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip over and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat and put on baking rack set on sheet pan.  They can be held in an oven at 250 degrees for about 10 minutes. 

 
Roasted Zucchini and Fennel

2 pounds mixed zucchini
1 large bulb of fennel

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Slice zucchini and fennel so that they are uniform in size.  Place on sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for about 15-25 minutes depending on size.

Grilled Brandy Marinated Peaches with Vanilla Mascarpone 

10 peaches, cut in half
1 cup brandy
1/2 c. vanilla sugar
1 container mascarpone
1/4 c. sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed

Mix brandy and sugar until sugar dissolves.   Put with peaches and allow to marinate for about 1 hour.  Mix mascarpone, sugar and seeds from vanilla bean.  Return mascarpone to refrigerator until you are ready to serve peaches.  Preheat grill to medium heat.  Put cooking spray on grill and add peaches.  Grill on flat side about 3-5 minutes and round side 2-4 minutes depending on size of peach.  Remove from grill.  Take mascarpone out of refrigerator and scoop about 1 rounded tbsp. into each center of peach.  

 

2 comments:

  1. Amazing....YES!! I will verify that this meal tasted even BETTER than it looks in the pics. I am excited for going out to lunch when school starts. :)

    ReplyDelete