Wednesday Night Glam-2/17/10

When I write out my menu for the month, I try to avoid putting recipes on the weekends. Weekends are very unpredictable. I never know exactly what we'll be doing and want to leave room for spontaneity. Saturdays are Richard's long training days for triathlon and Sundays are church and small group. I don't want the schedule of our day to be dictated by what we have for dinner. So this month, I've made Wednesdays our glamorous meal day. Thankfully, tonight's meal could be made quickly (with a make-ahead last night) because I took Eyrleigh to a playdate at 3:00 and didn't get home until 5:30.
The main dish, the Beef Tenderloin Medallions with Potato "Risotto", was a very easy dish. The "risotto" was really diced potato and tasted as creamy as the real thing. The steak was rubbed with thyme, salt, and pepper and grilled. I will certainly try the potato trick again, even if I have real risotto in the cabinet. This way was faster and did not require constant stirring, something difficult with a needy 2-year-old whining after her nap.
The dessert was the real glamorous part of the meal. Last night I quickly put together the mousse to chill overnight. This recipe made a relatively small amount of mousse so I knew it would be rich. The three other components of the dish were pretty easy to put together tonight. The chocolate ganache and reduced port cut some of the intense sweetness of the mousse and the tang of the whipped creme fraiche was refreshing. This was a simple dessert but had wonderful complexity of flavor. I would order this dish at an expensive restaurant. Humm, do you think anyone would pay to come eat this at my house? Ahhh, heck, you could come for free!

Beef Tenderloin Medallions with Potato "Risotto"-B+
Milk Chocolate Mousse with Port Ganache and Whipped Creme Fraiche-A

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hambrick's-Party of Four!-8/1/11

Image
On August 24th of last year, I wrote a innocuous little post on this blog about my husband being a good sport about my creative culinary exploits.  And then....nothing....for over 11 months.  What happened, you may ask?  Well, the picture at left tells a rather significant part of the story but not the whole thing so I'll try to summarize here in case another 11 months go by before I post again.  (Okay, I will seriously try not to do that!)  The year 2010 started off on the wrong foot with the loss of our fourth pregnancy (Thankfully, pregnancy #2 had resulted in Eyrleigh!) at 18 weeks.  We were still reeling from the devastation of that event when my only sibling, my brother Ben, committed suicide at the end of February.  Then in April, Richard's company hired a new CEO and things professionally went south from there for him.  Since a blog is a public format and could therefor be accessed by anyone, including this individual, let me suffice it to say that after 9 years with th
Read more

I Don't Boil Lobsters...July in Review-7/31/09

Image
Gourmet's July recipes are in the bag and aside from the two recipes I refused to do, I made every recipe for the month. I suppose I should explain... I eat meat but I cannot actually kill the animal before I eat it. I suppose I should amend this statement. The mussels I brought home from the store said "Live mussels" but they sure didn't move or give any other indication that they were alive. Lobsters do, they move, they squirm, and whether you believe it's simply air escaping from their shells or not, they make a high pitched screaming sound when first put into boiling water. I just can't do that. The very thought of it turns my stomach and makes something I find fun, cooking, fill me with dread. So I didn't make the Boiled Lobster Dinner with Sesame Mayonnaise on page 54 or the Lobster Rolls with Lemon Vinaigrette and Garlic Butter on page 28. Everything else I made and here's my highs and lows from this month's issue. This month's best reci
Read more

He Even Eats Sardines-8/24/10

Image
My husband is a really good sport.  I was reminded on several occasions this week how many spouses, husbands in particular, would take no part in the experiment I've been blogging about for over a year and a half.  Some friends came to eat last week and the wife made a point to tell me her husband did not eat vegetables.  He's a great guy but I'm really glad I'm not married to him.   I couldn't handle a picky eater.  And I'm 100% sure a picky eater could not handle me!    Another friend, after I told her what we were having for dinner, asked very incredulously if Richard would eat that.   Tonight I think I found Richard's least favorite food.  It's sardines.  I had to eat them as a kid so though I don't love them, I can eat them.  Richard took one bite of the sardine spread and asked what I had made him eat.   The recipe for Grilled Monterey Sardines with Lemon and Herbs in the To Big Sur, With Love article in this month's Bon Appetit called for
Read more