Simple Meal of the Month
Menu:
Salmon with Herbed Mustard Sauce
Scalloped Potato Gratin
Sauteed Broccolini
Drinks:
Wine
This week we decided to do something fairly simple. Both Mollys have been working a lot of hours at their actual jobs (where they make the big bucks) so we wanted something that was going to be quick and easy, yet oh so tasty! We have been wanting to do fish for a while ever since the botch with the scallops a month or so ago, so we thought tonight would be the perfect night. Fish is usually fairly quick to cook and the recipes for fish are mainly focused on the sauce that accompany it. This recipe for Salmon was exactly what we wanted. It was a quick cook, 7 minutes, and could have been even less. Molly 2 went to the right fish market this time and got a nice fillet of Coho Salmon. The sauce in the recipe turned out a little more like paste and the Mollys would alter it in the future, or make a different sauce. We suggest using 1/3 the amount of mustard and adding more oil to create a better consistency. However, the fish was fresh and yummy anyway.
The scalloped potatoes were suggested by a customer at the Peet's store the two Mollys work at, and we are so happy that it was suggested. They turned out amazing! The recipe was so simple and yet the end result was a delicious mouth full of potato creamy cheesy goodness. This recipe is just a base too. To make the scalloped potatoes have even more complex flavors to them you could add bacon or shallots or a more pungent cheese, the options are endless.
Broccolini was sort of a last minute decision. It goes back to the dinner we had with broccoli rabe when we meant to get broccolini. Molly 1 said this time "Broccolini, not broccoli rabe!" It was just a simple sauté. The key was throwing the broccolini in an ice bath after blanching. Molly 2's ice bath consisted of cold water and 5 ice cubes, but it didn't matter. It's the thought that counts, right?
Not all dinners need to be a production with 8 main courses. Sometimes simple is best.
A Birthday Bash For A Deserving Mother And Her Friends
Menu:
Cheese, Salami, Crackers and Fig Jam
Arugula Salad with Parmesan and Croutons
Sauteed Rainbow Chard with Toasted Pine Nuts
Roasted Yukon Gold and Red Potatoes
Lamb Wrapped in Parchment with Fennel
Brownies with Ginger Ice Cream
Tonight we put on a party for Molly 2's mom. It was her birthday and as a present we that we would love to do a dinner for her and her friends. There were nine total, which doesn't seem like a large party, but it was our first time cooking and plating for
more than four. If it had been a buffet style dinner it would have been much easier, but Molly and Molly wanted a challenge and the experience, so we decided to take the road less traveled.
The first order of business, weeks ago, was figuring out what the menu was going to be. Just around that time we made the "Mollys had a Little Lamb" dinner, which we loved. It was an easy choice to do the lamb. The packets that you make for the recipe are fun to open and great entertainment for party guests. The sides are simple and a delicious accompaniment.
We wanted to keep the appetizers simple since the dinner was bound to be rich. There is a wonderful cheese shop in Berkeley called The Cheese Board, which carries hundreds or even thousands of cheeses. You can literally spend the entire day there tasting cheese, which they are happy to sample. The staff is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic, that it makes dull grocery shopping enjoyable. We ended up with two Spanish cheeses, and one cheese from Switzerland. Unfortunately the wrappers were thrown away so we don't know the names. However, the Spanish cheeses were similar to a smoked Gouda and a Bucheron, and the Swiss cheese was like a mild Beemster. The salami was a hot coppa from Magnanis that balanced well with the smooth, fruity, cheese.
The lamb packets were the most challenging aspect of the night. Even though we had made it before, the number and volume of packets we were making was much greater. We started preparing all the food an hour and half before we wanted dinner to be ready. In the past our timing for dinners has been slightly off so we wanted a cushion for error. Everything was going great, and we were so confident that we had knocked it out of the park until we cut into a piece of lamb ourselves. The meat was raw. The packets were already out on the table and we looked on in horror as the guests were cutting into their own lamb loins. Embarrassingly we had to offer to cook peoples meat slightly longer if they wanted, but they were all very polite and declined. It turned out that the lamb was flavorful regardless of how well it was cooked, and that in fact they liked the tenderness and rareness of the meat. Our big mistake was not letting the lamb rest before we cooked it so when it went into the oven it was still cold on the inside and thus needed to cook for longer. We learn something new every time we cook.
The dessert Molly 2 made the day before keeping in line with our previous learned rule: make dessert first! It was a chocolate brownie with black currant and hazelnut chocolate chunks. Earlier in the week she made a similar batch, but had used old chocolate and found that it is very important to make sure the chocolate you use for cooking is not expired. Who knew chocolate expires. The ice cream that went with it was a simple vanilla ice cream with candied ginger mixed in. The flavors were sweet and spicy with hints of fruit and decadent chocolate. It was a huge
hit.
Overall the dinner was a success. There were many things that the Mollys learned and will do differently in the future. Although, they were disappointed with various things, they are perfectionists to the core, the party goers loved it and couldn't have been happier. It doesn't hurt that they got to go home with a party favor. (Cute jars filled with ingredients to make ginger snaps.)
Links:
Vanilla Ice Cream
Brownies
Candied Ginger
