The Table is Set Monday, April 14, 2008

 

Where to even begin! My weekend was a whirlwind! I was fighting some lingering sinus infection so i felt about as low par as a girl can feel and still keep moving. I even took my temp at one point but discovered it was only from slaving over a hot stove all day, a couple aspirin and a shot of Pomegranate Liqueur and i was good as new!

So let me preface this post by saying that about February 1 we had a gorgeous sunny warm day and my entire being exploded. I was in love with the world and life and my house and my garden and all the little seeds and oh love was all around. i promptly decided to host a multi-course meal at my house to celebrate the rebirth of Spring. At that point I started to plan my menu knowing one thing; It had to involve all the fresh and amazing things of Spring. Lucky for me all of my Queen Bees were free that weekend sans the mini-beelets so i knew we would be in for a fabulous evening.

Here is our Menu

 

As the day of the event drew near i discovered, between snow showers and a broken furnace, that really spring hadn’t arrived and I was COLD! I still persevered and found that many local markets were lovingly brushing off the frost and also secretly celebrating spring so i collected fresh bunches of asparagus, wild mushrooms, long crunchy spring radishes . From the garden i collected all my fresh herbs, baby arugula and Leeks.

 

Appetizers

I wasn’t hot on my appetizers. The prawn was a little tough and the sauce was weird. Is that a professional term? well it was. I wonder if the Saffron was too strong with the garlic. I loved the polenta squares when i tested them earlier and baked the polenta off in the oven but when i was rushing around, i tried to fry them and they stuck..yeesh! they tasted great and the oven roasted tomatoes were fantastic! i would do those again for sure. Thank you Darlene for patiently toasting my polenta triangles for me
The picture is pretty and the Prosecco was great!

First Course

Cream of Asparagus Soup
Finished with a Parmesan Custard and Parmesan Crisps

 

YUM. that is all i need to say. This was amazing! i ate it for 3 days after and never tired of asparagus pee. This recipe was a delight and took 2 days to make, my favorite kind.

I took pictures of my kitchen because i had soup on the ceiling (still do) and all over the counters, cupboards. I should have gotten the quote i have printed in my kitchen on the wall, “only the pure of heart can make good soup” what does it mean when you cover yourself with the stuff?

The custards were a savory Creme Brulee with all the goodness of cream and cheese. i think i could just eat those for the rest of my life too. The combination with the asparagus was perfect!note the pug.
that garbage bag was toast when i ran to the liquor store

 Second Course
Ricotta Gnudi
Served with wild mushroom Ragout and Fresh Herbs

I have two things to say here, one, i have no idea if this is a mushroom ragout i just thought it sounded fun and second, this entire meal is based on this course. I LOVE Gnudi, which are little ricotta dumplings and now that i know how to make ricotta, there is no turning back. The mushroom sauce was incredible with the delicate dumplings. I will make this again too!

Third Course
Chicken Saltimbocca
Served with French Beans and Spring Carrots

Need i say more?

I chose this recipe From Cook’s Illustrated at the last minute and am so glad i did! The meat was tender and the Prosciutto was just the right saltiness. It was also a good excuse to use some new sage that popped up in my garden! I was able to wrapped the beans in the leek stalks i had used for the soup base.

Fourth Course
Fresh Greens
Fennel, Celery Root, Baby Arugula and Spring Radishes with an herbed Goat Cheese

I wanted this course to cleanse the pallet. I could have gone on and on and on but what i really wanted to focus on was Spring greens. I found these gorgeous Radishes at Pasta Works. The gal was just putting them out. I also just happened to have a 20 year old Balsamic to drizzle over the top. mmmm
I also took fresh goat cheese and rolled it in Zaatar spices.

 

This is my favorite picture. I like to think they are admiring something, but it makes me laugh more to think of them saying,
“Um, What the hell is that”? “ 
” I dont know, do we eat it? You eat it first”
“I dont want to eat it, what if it is just for decoration? It isnt on the Menu”
“Lets wait and see if Sarah eats it”
“Wait, did she eat it or give it to the Pug? damn!”

OK enough. I am sure they are admiring Sami’s GORGEOUS embroidery work on the napkins! Seriously, custom embroidery work for our Spring Meal? How special are we?

  Thanks Sami! I will Cherish them forever.

Fifth and Final Course
Cheese and Port Poached Pears
with a salt caramel truffle for fun

 

The cheeses were amazing. I had a Roquefort that i was told to eat with butter. so we whipped up a batch of fresh butter and the different textures together were really lovely.  With this last course i also offered some amazing digest-ifs. To poach the pears i needed to peal them and slowly steep them in a port mixture. I didn’t actually know if i had Port but i did! i somehow obtained this mystery bottle from a friend of mine a few years back and thought, OK well lets see what we have. OH MY GOD. It was divine! It was so beautifully smooth that i went on-line to find out how pricey this little bottle i was cooking with came to…$60 for about 16 oz of Port. fortunately, i didnt need too much and we were all able to have a small glass of Port. I also had a gorgeous Moscato that i painstakingly peeled the label from this weekend (and not so well) so i could keep it as a reminder. YUM!

  

 

All in all the meal was so special and such a delight to have my friends in one place for a lovely evening of my favorite thing…food. I will do it again for sure!