something coming soon.
When I can figure out how to get a list of the other posts in this category here, it will be. For now, just some pictures. =)
flickr stream.
Victorious Dinner Party
Although I was born in SoCal, and I live in SoCal, I spent a great deal of my formative years in the Northern regions, also known as Seattle. There I acquired a love for rain, a taste for Asian cuisine, and a couple of good friends. Not many, but what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality. So when it came time to plan a dinner party for last night, I pulled out Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen. Tom is a Seattle chef with a style that I like, and for some reason I had Seattle on my mind.
I decided to go with a well-rubbed meat, Potato and Turnip Gratin, and Carrots and Kale, with Masa Onion Rings for an appetizer. When I left for the store I wasn’t sure which meat I was getting, since I’m picky about what I get. I ended up with a whole free-range organic chicken, from Coastal Organics. The bird was about 4.5 lbs, and since it was whole was only $11! Not bad. For the rub I chose Tom’s Chile Crusted Turkey rub, which consisted of about equal parts paprika, chile powder, brown sugar, and salt, with a little fresh cumin. I stuffed the bird with some onion and a Meyer lemon, and I grilled it on the lowest heat my gas grill will do, for about 50 minutes ( when I had 160 on my insta-thermometer ). I cooked this in advance, and then put it in the oven to reheat when I was baking my Gratin. The Gratin was pretty light, with a lot of fresh herbs, a little cheese and cream, and spread out on a jelly-roll baking pan so as to facilitate broiling a nice crust over most of the potatoes at the end. I went rustic and left the skin on, and I think it added a nice texture to the dish. The carrots and kale were just sauteed in a little olive oil and lemon juice. I did all my prep way in advance, and only had to cook the gratin and veggies when our guests were here. It made for a relaxing fun event, and the food was fantastic. The chicken in particular was moist, flavorful, and definitely a rub I’ll use again. You get a flavor with the whole bird that just can’t be recreated with cut pieces. I do need to learn to truss the damn thing though.
For dessert I made the Classic Unsweetened Brownie from Alice Medrich’s bible, Bittersweet. Perfectly crunchy and gooey, with a nice rich chocolate taste. Simple, great with a glass of wine, and nicely sinful.
All in all, a great event, with very little work when guests were over, and also a lot less cleanup since I had already done most of the dishes. This is what entertaining is supposed to be like.
posted to In the Kitchen, at 08:28 AM. permalink
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