Cooking to me isn't just about eating. There's much more and the process of doing it is often just as much fun as enjoying the fruits of my creation. I love spending the time with my wife (she's my sous). We often drink wine while cooking and usually invite guests, who I also invite to participate. I plan the meal, do the shopping, coordinate the assembly but otherwise get as much help as I can.
Saturday night we cooked for a couple friend of ours. I realized that I need to keep better track of what I make as well as any notes to help me next time. So here goes.
Appetizer
Ceviche de Atun - Fonda San Miguel p37
This is an incredible ceviche and fairly quick to prepare. Because it's using Sushi grade tuna it only needs to "cook" for 15 minutes. The time consuming part here is the juicing of the three citruses, but the light flavor is just unbelievable. I also added chopped avocado to the service dish and fried the chips using my favorite tortillas El Milagro from here in Austin.
I have made another ceviche before (that more than one person I trust said was the best they had ever had). Unfortunately I didn't write down which recipe I used. I am guessing it's Ceviche Veracruzano (Fonda p38) but I can't be sure. :(
Main Course
Jalapeno Cheese Grits - Hudson's Fired Up p96
I love grits. This is a great twist on the grits to include the spice and the creaminess of cheese and ... well cream. I made 1/2 the recipe (cooking for 4) and spread it across a ~9 inch (oval in my case) basking dish. I wanted it to be about 1-2 inches thick and it worked out perfectly. Once baked I used a 3inch cookie cutter to make 4 round grit cakes.
Sea Scallops
Another favorite of mine. I got 4 of the largest roundest I could find. I used my super big metal pan (not non-stick and I wanted to be sure not to crowd them) and heated olive oil to the smoking point. I patted dry and then salted (kosher) the scallops. They actually turned out to be a little to salty to next time I'd either do less or not at all. I seared the scallops until there was a good crust and I could see the cooking part to nearly 1/2 way through. I flipped them and did the same on the other, a little bit shorter time. Since they continue to cook after off the fire I error'd on the side of under cooking and they were perfect! I stacked these on top of the grit cakes.
Chimichurri Sauce
This is one of my favorite sauces. I usually don't make it very spicy. I was craving it so I thought it would go nicely over the stacked scallops and grits. I don't have a set Chimichurri recipe but here is the basics of what I do. Blend (2 hours early):
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
- 1+ tbsp minced garlic (I buy the jar's of pre-minced garlic and always use much more than what is called for in every recipe)
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup rice whine vinegar
- Juice 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp diced red onion
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Side
Hudson's Variable Veggies - Cooking Fearlessly p145
This is my staple go-to dish. It is fantastic and easy. I have made it more times than I can count and it's so good I don't change the recipe one bit.
Desert
Bananas Foster - as far as i can research the original recipe from Brennans restaurant
This is one of my three favorite desert dishes to make. A go-to crowd favorite.
Recipe:
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown surgar
- 1/2 tsp cinanmon
- 1/4 cup banana liqueur
- 4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise then halved
- 1/4 cup dark rum
- vanilla ice cream (I often skip)
Combine butter, sugar, cinnamon in skillet. Cook until sugar dissolves then stir in banana liqueur. Place bananas in pan and cook until they soften and start to brown. Add rum and ignite. Serve!
