TK dinner ~ June 2014

Another dinner done. Whew!
We recently took a little trip to the Oregon coast and camped for a few days so I thought it would be fun to serve a few standard "camping fare" items at the next TK. 
Silly? Probably. 
Fun! Yes.

There was an oyster farm about ten minutes from our campsite, so of course, we had oysters. Two nights actually.

(i have ugly toes)

Tk dinner started with fresh oysters from Sunh Fish Market.

We had some raw, and then some with a sweet and spicy sauce. 

Add lemon and fresh parsley. 

Delicious.

Next up were the arancini with an lemon, asiago and pepper dip.

I then let everyone rest for a minute and we served a grilled pluot salad. The pluots were all over the farmers market this past weekend so I figured I should take advantage of them while I could - they are usually gone pretty quickly.

Here are the grilled pluots.

Here is the salad.

Thank you to elizabeth d. photography for this fantastic shot!

Entree this evening were mussels done with white wine and garlic (the usual) and served with slices of a spiced walnut bread.

There was also this lemon cinnamon butter to go with the bread.

Finally it was time for dessert.

We had been camping so of course s'mores had to make an appearance!

The s'mores above are homemade marshmallows rolled in graham cracker dust then drizzled with an orange, chocolate ganache.

Holy Hell.

I also made jello.

Or, you could call it a fresh peach and raspberry gelee.

I called it jello.

And that was IT. Whew!

By the way, I did do TK dinners in April and May.

April was all Korean food. May was a spin on some classic Cuban dishes. As soon as I locate the photos I will share those dinners.

Until next month...see you all soon!

dinner @Tate's / august 2013

What do you mean school starts in exactly two weeks??? For some reason this realization just hit me and sent me into a slight panic. Needless to say, I am not ready. Not ready to no longer have my little sidekick with me most every minute of every day. Her and her little antics and constant dialogue and dancing and singing around the house are already missed. I'm a somewhat sad mom right now. Yes...I know...all of you are rolling your eyes at me...why am I here? the reason you're here? oh yes...my dinner post...(sniff...sniff...)

The Summer of Seafood has run it's course. For now anyway. Who knows what will show on the menu for September. In addition to testing recipes for all sorts of seafood I've also been dealing with all the produce that has been given to me. An unbelievably fantastic array of pears, peaches, apples, plums, grapefruit, onions, peppers, tomatoes, on and on this has gone. It has been AWESOME. I have canned and pickled. Made jams, jellies and chutneys. Cooked all of it every which way I think my family will eat it. And for this months dinner I wanted to try and incorporate some of the items that have been swallowing up my kitchen and my fridge. Therefore, we started Sunday dinner with a simple Caprese salad.

(I know - that whole list of produce I just mentioned and I threw some tomatoes and cheese on a plate???!!! What kind of kitchen is this? HA)

Next up was a Brie wheel baked in puff pastry with my homemade spiced peach jam - served with wheat crackers (I was trying to add some nutritional value to this appetizer...think it worked?)

This is one of the worst photos ever but you get the idea.

I let this settle with the guests for a bit and just kept the wine flowing (Best Hostess Ever!) Then served this salad of grapefruit, garlic and ginger marinated shrimp on a bed of arugula, radishes and more heirloom tomatoes with toasted panko crumbs. Additional marinade was quickly boiled and served as dressing - Delicious!

This was followed by an entree of mussels cooked with beer, bacon, tomatoes and thyme. Served with a little homemade wheat pasta and pretzel bread toasts.

I also had a bunch of corn and cherry tomatoes from my market visit so I did a quick succotash sort of dish with fresh basil.

Now I REALLY needed to let everyone sit and rest for a minute (and of course kept the wine flowing) I think everyone was pretty full at this point but I had already made dessert soooooo.....buck up little campers.....here's some homemade plum and brandy ice cream with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce and toasted almonds

Followed immediately by these apple handpies served with the same hot fudge sauce on the side - just in case anyone wanted to put themselves completely over the edge.

WHEW! So what should we have for September dinner@Tate's Kitchen? Thoughts? Suggestions? I promise to not let my tears from missing my daughter get into the food.

:-)

pan seared scallops with raisin caper sauce and cauliflower puree

My summer of seafood continues. This past dinner at Tate's Kitchen featured these buttery, pan seared scallops served on a bed of roasted cauliflower puree with a golden raisin and caper sauce.

Yikes that is quite the mouthful when I say all of it out loud. 
Anyway, I got this idea from a very late night episode of Iron Chef - very late. One of the chefs made a cauliflower puree and this sauce and served both over some sort of fish. I knew I wanted to make scallops for the next dinner so I figured this would be a fun experiment! Yes, a rather pricey experiment, but why not right? Let's try something new!
Totally worth it!
I hope you can give it a go.

YOU WILL NEED:
roasted cauliflower puree
scallops
raisin caper sauce
fresh parsley for garnish

roasted cauliflower puree - 
Here's the link since I've posted this before - but I'll do a quick review below.

1 head of cauliflower - washed and broken apart
1 red onion - very large chop
5 cloves of garlic - sliced
fresh thyme
pecorino cheese - grated - you will need about 1/2 a cup
(you could also use Parmesan - but I actually prefer Pecorino)
1 cup milk or heavy cream
olive oil
salt 
pepper

oven to 425

chop everything and spread out on a baking sheet.
drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.
toss in 4 or 5 thyme sprigs.
into the oven for about 20 minutes.
remove - carefully toss all this and add the cheese.
back into the oven about 15 minutes - or just until the vegetables are tender.
let cool.
when ready - add all the cauliflower, a couple chunks of onion and 2 large garlic slices to the food processor.
pulse 5 or 6 times.
add 1/2 cup of the milk or cream.
pulse a few more times and see if you like the consistency.
add more cream as needed.
add salt and pepper as needed.

golden raisin and caper sauce - 
1/4 cup golden raisins (do not use regular raisins - only golden raisins)
1/4 cup capers - rinsed
2 tablespoons water

all of this goes into a small saucepan.
bring to a gentle simmer.
once it is simmering let it cook just until the raisins are plump.
let cool.
dump all of it into the food processor.
pulse until you are happy with the consistency.
add a few turns of salt and several turns of pepper.
set aside.

scallops - 
couple things about this...
- I don't think it should be done in a non-stick pan - you just do not get the same crispy caramelization thing happening as you do when using a regular ol stainless steel pan 
(in my personal opinion) (and what a horrible sentence)
- Everything else needs to be done and pretty much ready to serve before you do scallops. They are definitely a cook and serve immediately type item.
- Do not add too much butter and oil to the pan - again, you will not get the crispy browned sides. They are still tasty but they are now poached instead of seared (another horrible sentence...sorry) I only add a pat of butter then a tablespoon or so of oil and just add more butter and oil as needed.

okay.....the scallops...
gently pat them dry.
salt and pepper both sides.
sprinkle a scant amount of sugar on them as well - sugar helps with the whole 'crispy caramel outside edge' thing

in a saucepan heat a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil until bubbly and browned.
sugared side first - gently lay the scallops in the pan - no one should be touching.
if you purchased the large scallops they will be ready to flip in two or three minutes - as soon as you see a lovely caramel color forming around the edges.
flip and cook the second side - adding a little more butter if needed.

little cauliflower puree on the plate.
the scallops next.
drizzle with the raisin caper sauce.
garnish with some fresh parsley and a lemon wedge if desired.
serve immediately.

dinner @Tate's / july 2013

Another dinner on the books! I guess this is becoming somewhat of a habit? This summer I wanted to do the "Summer of Seafood" which is trickier than it sounds since no one in this house will eat it! Husband is allergic and daughter refuses to eat anyone that might have been friends with Nemo (yes...the animated clown fish - Dory's buddy -you know who that is right?) I decided to muddle forward anyway and carry out my plan. They can have hotdogs.

The July dinner started with two appetizers,
Olive oil bruschetta with a lemon, honey ricotta spread, seasoned with herbs de Provence - topped with macerated plums, tart little cherries and fresh mint,

Followed by lemony grilled shrimp and a homemade thousand island dressing - which I am now serving with everything (the sauce that is)

Entree for the evening was buttery, pan fried scallops served on a roasted cauliflower puree, topped with a golden raisin and caper sauce,

Sides were straight from my morning visit to the Farmer's market (actually most of this menu was and usually is) - green beans and caramelized onions garnished with toasted almonds and parsley,

And oven roasted baby carrots finished with a little butter, brown sugar and thyme, not real pretty but definitely tasty, 

I also did some small accordion potatoes with bay leaves and thyme and which could have used a touch more salt - but were still pretty good,

Bittersweet chocolate filled beignets for dessert (everyone's favorite)

And a little scoop of homemade cinnamon, vanilla ice cream,

Hopefully no one left our house hungry?
(silly....i know)

Thank you again to all the attendees!
Hope to see you soon.

dinner @Tate's / june 2013

Cook, cook, cook...eat, eat, eat...

and it's a bajillion degrees in this house with no real air conditioning!

Is it worth it?

Of course it is.

LOVE hearing everyone at the table chatting and laughing and then the moments of silence when someone takes a bite and encourages all others to do so.

...perfect...

Here was the June dinner...

We started with a mushroom bruschetta,

And an avocado, lime soup with fresh crab, red radishes and cilantro,

Next up was a spicy grilled shrimp served with a traditional risotto and some kale chips,

Also a Tilapia with paper thin slices of potato baked until crispy and delicious,

Another photo of the Kale chips which everyone MUST try soon,

I also tested this recipe for a kale and zucchini bread pudding which I have made 3 times since this dinner - I will get that recipe up very soon,

Finally it's time for dessert,

Some lemon curd filled thumbprint cookies,

Some Florentine cookies,

And a bittersweet chocolate Cremeux served with raspberry coulis, fresh berries and a little touch of fresh cream,

WHEW

Until next time...

spicy grilled shrimp with fettucine

I'm FINALLY back in the kitchen!
Actually it's not like I ever really left. You know how it is - we can have 500 projects going all at the same time but still need to get the laundry done and dinner on the table, right? I did tell my family no-one was allowed to open the drapes - this way I couldn't see the one inch high dust covering every flat surface in my house. My usual response? "Go light some candles...let's pretend it's still the middle of winter"
Anyway, these last couple months have been nuts with RenFaire prep - more to come on that later - so food items have needed to be quick and easy and NO fuss - last night was hot dogs - yes...I'm serious...and I'm just fine with announcing I made boiled hot dogs to the entire world - boiled! I didn't even bother to go turn on the grill.


But today I finally have a chance to cook something and I'm craving pasta (???)


Here's how it turned out.

Now remember - I'm the one in the house that doesn't want sauce (husband wants white sauce, daughter wants red sauce...I want no sauce...) 
I like my pasta with just olive oil, fresh parmesan and some fresh ground pepper and whatever else I'm in the mood for.
So this dish is perfect for me and came together pretty quick.
Very happy with my lunch today.


YOU WILL NEED:
1 package fresh pasta
1 pound raw shrimp - peeled, deveined, dried, etc...
1 1/2 to 2 red peppers - they might be called red jalapeno
4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
8 tablespoons of butter (gasp)
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice - and save a little for just before serving
cilantro
salt
pepper


TO DO:


Turn on the grill.
I say this here because I ALWAYS seem to forget to do this until right before I need it.
Grab one of those disposable aluminum trays or some other grill safe pan.
Cut the butter into 8 pieces.
Chop the garlic.
Add the butter, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice to the pan.
Thinly slice the red pepper and add that in.
Add a few turns of pepper.
Then swish all of that around a little - set aside. You want to make sure that pepper infuses everything in that pan. Kind of share the heat if you will.

Bring a pot of water to boiling.
While you're waiting for the water, prep your shrimp and skewer them.

Drizzle each side with olive oil and salt and pepper.


These next two steps can be done in reverse order I think.
I cooked my pasta according to the package directions - minus a minute so it wasn't mushy, drained it, put it back in the pot, tossed with a little olive oil then went and grilled the shrimp. I'm sure either way will be fine.
The shrimp needs to go on the grill for only a couple of minutes on each side.
Place the aluminum pan on one side of the grill and the shrimp skewers on the other.
Once the shrimp are almost completely done slide them off the skewers into the butter, lemon juice mixture and let cook another minute or so.
When ready pour the contents of the aluminum pan into the pot with the pasta and give it all a good tossing.
Squeeze a little more lemon juice in there.
Add a couple tablespoons of cilantro.
Add some pepper and cheese if you so desire.
Serve immediately.

By the way, I think this would be wonderful with brown rice or even some Asian noodles. I just didn't have any today.
But it's a thought...


note:
I made this last night for my husband and he says it's better with angel hair pasta.
Just another thought....