Rainbow-Themed Dinner
Cooking with friends is such a treat! It’s nice to share a meal together, but sharing in its preparation makes it that much more of a bonding experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Cooking with friends is such a treat! It’s nice to share a meal together, but sharing in its preparation makes it that much more of a bonding experience. Read the rest of this entry »
December 23rd was the third annual Chopped Night at the Van Spronsens’ house! (In case you’re not familiar with the idea, each family member is given three ingredients and a course, and must make a dish appropriate to that course that uses all three ingredients.)
This year we all had to bring our A-game, because there were three additional challenges to make the evening that much more special:
It ended up being a tremendous success! Here are the culinary creations our family came up with:
Required Ingredients: Prosciutto, Friulano cheese, pears, balsamic reduction
Drink Pairing: Ford Cocktails (by Ivan)
Required Ingredients: Bocconcini, lemons, chard, Campari tomatoes
Drink Pairing: Burdock Dandelion Soda with Mint Sprig (by Leah)
Required Ingredients: Radicchio, olives, orange, egg
Drink Pairing: Festive Flips (by Shari)
Required Ingredients: Squid ink pasta, ricotta, artichoke hearts, foccacia
Drink Pairing: Pinot Grigio
Required Ingredients: Tenderloin, porcini mushrooms, fennel, rosemary
Drink Pairing: Chianti
Required Ingredients: Farro, anchovies, sundried tomatoes, grey squash
Drink Pairing: Chianti (served alongside previous course)
Required Ingredients: Apple, pear, vanilla, basil
Drink Pairing: Lillet Prosecco Cocktails
Nice work, everyone!
Recently I discovered this phenomenal side: Yams with Brown Butter Vinaigrette. It was amazing and really simple. Actually, just make the brown butter, and make the yams however you want.
I would use slightly less actual butter than they did; maybe 1/3 cup instead of half. I’ve also tried with onions instead of shallots; it worked, but it wasn’t quite as interesting. Apple cider vinegar works great when you don’t have red wine vinegar.
We didn’t have the full 50 minutes to get the yams done, so we just quartered them, poked them all over with a fork, roasted them for 30 minutes or so in the oven, sliced them, and poured the brown butter over-top. Yum!
Continuing the risotto theme, I made a fantastic risotto (epicurious, of course) and I felt I should post the recipe here. I paired it with black bean chicken with asiago and asparagus (i.e. contents of fridge).
Some comments:
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Here’s a simple recipe I used to spice up the cod Dad gave me. You’ve probably made similar recipes already in your travels, but I found this particular combination truly spectacular:
1 cup crushed soda crackers (the finer the better)
2 minced cloves garlic
4 leaves finely chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp each salt and pepper (adjust to preference)
1 tbsp lemon juice
4-6 cod fillets, skin removed
4 tbsp olive oil
Preheat oven to 300°F. Mix first group of ingredients. Rinse and pat dry the cod fillets. Immerse them in olive oil, then roll them in cracker mixture. Arrange on a pan and bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.