As promised here are the recipes for Al's dinner.
As discussed in yesterdays post, the dinner is for approximately 15 guests, and portion control is the key. Enjoy
Amouse Bouche – Tequilla Infused Shrimp
10 medium size shrimp peeled
1/3 cup tequila (your choice on brand but use a decent quality one)
3tbs butter
Small handful of chopped parsley and cilantro (total amount when put together should be about 1/3 of a cup)
Chilli flakes to taste depending on spice level of guests (the amount to use is your choice)
Splash of olive oil
1lime
1red pepper
1 red onion
1tbs garlic chopped
1/3 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
Salt and pepper to taste
In a sauté pan, at medium heat add olive oil, then butter, then garlic, and sauté for about 30 seconds, if the garlic starts to brown, start over, it should not brown just let it cook slightly, add the chilli flakes and then add the shrimp, toss with garlic and chilli, then as the shrimp begin to change color, add the tequila and half the juice of one lime and salt and pepper to taste. As the shrimp gets further cooked and is almost pink, add the cilantro and parsley and toss. The shrimp should take about 3 minutes per side to finish cooking, once it`s done shut off the stove and let it rest in the juices. Next, as finely as possible cut about ¼ of the red pepper into a fine dice, almost to the point of it being a mince. Do the same for about a 1/3 of the red onion and then mix the two together. To this add the corn kernels, if using frozen, thaw them in the microwave. Add the remaining juice of the other half of lime to this red pepper salsa, and top with a little more cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.
To serve this dish, take each shrimp and cut into two pieces. Ideally you want to serve this dish in Chinese spoons (here is what they look like http://asianideas.com/trchsp24pc.html) I have even seen them in dollar stores. But if you cannot find them we can try something else. One option that doesn’t cost anything that I used the first time I made this dish was to go to an oyster bar and ask them for their discarded oyster shells. I cleaned and rinsed and scrubbed them clean and then used them and it looked very nice. Take a spoon of the red pepper salsa, and place it gently in the center of the oyster or Chinese spoon and then top that with two pieces of shrimp (do not include the shrimp tail). Then take a teaspoon of the sauce the shrimp was resting in and spoon a very small amount of that over the entire item. If serving in oysters you may provide a small spoon if guests do not want to shuck that, or if using the asian spoon then they just use that.
Appetizer - Salmon and Rib Eye Crostini
5-7 ounces smoked salmon (I usually by it in a pack at the grocery store, if you get it from there too, 2 packs should be enough)
Small log of goat cheese
1/3 cup chopped red onion
a small jar of capers
olive oil salt and pepper
2 1/2 pounds steak, rib eye
1 cup lightly packed Italian parsley
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, optional
2 tablespoons shallots minced
3/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 baguettes (the baguette I buy, I can cut into about 30 pieces which is the amount you need)
A small bag of mixed greens
1 shallot minced
Juice of half a lemon
First we prep the salmon and goat cheese crostini
Drizzle 15 slices of baguette with a little olive oil then top with a thin slice of smoked salmon, top with a small knob of goat cheese, top goat cheese with a few chopped pieces of red onion and maybe 2-3 capers. Salt and pepper to taste and drizzle once more with olive oil, the olive oil to top it is important cause you don`t want anything to burn but at the same time do not soak it in oil as it is a light drizzle. Once it is ready, put the slices on a baking tray and into the oven at 425 degrees for about 5-7 minutes. Make sure to watch it and not let it burn, the bread should be lightly toasted. Once done remove and let rest, and prep the rib eye.
All the ingredients listed under the rib eye steak above are used for the chimichuri sauce (1 cup lightly packed Italian parsley to 3 tablespoons lemon juice). Place all chimichurri sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until well chopped well, but not puréed and put aside. Salt and pepper your steak and grill your steak until medium rare to a maximum doneness of medium. When grilling try to baste your steak a few times with a tablespoon of butter. Once the steak is ready, let it rest so the juices do not run away when cut into (let rest about 5 minutes). While it is resting, toss the bag of mixed greens with the minced shallot, juice of half a lemon, and olive oil and salt and pepper. We want to have that simple of a vinaigrette to the tossed greens. Slice the steak into about 15 medium thick slices and place on crostini (do not toast the baguette for this one) and then top the steak with a spoon of the chimichuri sauce.
To plate, place small amount of mixed greens on an appetizer size plate and top with a salmon crostini and steak crostini, and then drizzle a good quality olive oil over entire plate.
Soup Course – Italian Mussel Wedding Soup
For the meatballs:
1/4 lb ground beef
1/4 lb, pork
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp spanish smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
For the soup:
7 cups chicken broth
2 cups spinach, chopped
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Orzo pasta
15 Mussels
Combine the ground meat, bread crumbs, egg, parsley, minced garlic and salt and pepper in mixing bowl. Hand mix and form into very small balls (that`s what she said) and form into tiny meat balls.
Put the meatballs on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes at 350F, until brown.
Approximately 15 minutes before serving, bring the chicken broth to a boil, add the spinach and orzo and cook until tender. Add the meatballs and return soup to a simmer. Now before adding the mussels to this, make sure the mussels have been scrubbed clean and no hairs remain. Any mussels already starting to open, do not add them, they have gone bad and discard them, only use ones that are closed. So add the mussels to the broth and cover for about 5-7 minutes. Take off the cover and the mussels should have opened up. Take the mussels out and stir in the Pecorino cheese to the soup. To serve, I recommend using very small bowls, or cups which actually make it look very nice. Take a tea cup and at the bottom of it add an opened mussel (mouth of mussel pointing upwards) and then spoon the broth and ensure everyone gets at least two to three small meatballs. To take it up a notch if you have left over baguette from the appetizer, use some thin slices of baguette, and brush them with a mixture of butter, garlic, olive oil and a dash of oregano and lightly toast in the over for a few minutes. On top of the tea cup or on the saucer for the tea cup place the garlic baguette slice. Make sure to tell guests that the mussel is best eaten at the very end as it develops all the flavors of the soup resting on it.
Mains – Cumin Crusted Tuna and Jerk Crusted Pork Loin
Tuna
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
15 (4-ounce) tuna steaks (about 1 inch thick)
olive oil
To a saute pan add coriander and cumin seeds, NO OIL THOUGH, and heat on medium for about 1-2 minutes constantly shaking pan and toasting your spices. You will notice a really nice aroma coming from the pan, that is the sign that they are ready. Take the seeds and grind them using a mortar and pestle, or coffee grinder or blender etc…
Combine coriander, cumin, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of fish.
Next, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat and let rest.
Jerk Pork Loin
3 (approx 1.5 to a max of 2 pounds¬) pork tenderloins
2.5 bunches green onions (minced)
3 fresh limes
2.5 tablespoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon fresh thyme
1.5 teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoon paprika
1-2 scotch bonnet or habenero chile pepper (one is not deadly, two can be tough, judgement call)
3 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Place all the ingredients in a bowl except the pork and make into a paste, using mortar and pestle or hand mixed or blender etc...
Use a glove and massage the jerk paste all over the pork tenderloin.
Put on a sheet tray and let marinade for 6 hours.
When ready to cook, preheat the grill to medium or oven at 350 degrees. Make sure not to cook the pork over a very high heat because it will burn your marinade. Cook the tenderloin (turning occasionally) for 10 minutes. Remove the pork from the grill and set aside to rest for 5 to 7 minutes. After pork has rested place back on the grill and cook to the temperature you like. Ideally the temperature you want is when the meat thermometer registers 160°.
Items on main plate as garnish and sides
Asparagus that has been sauted in olive oil, garlic, a few chilli flakes, butter, salt and pepper and the juice of half a sweet orange.
Fennel salad, take fennel (2-3 fennels), cut off tops and fronds (save a few of those fronds though, do not throw them), and cut off base and slice super duper thinly,using a mandolin works best i find but if you do not have one use a very sharp knife. The fennel should be paper and almost see through thin. Mix the thin slices with the saved fronds that you cut up, and to that add, the juice of one lemon, the rind of one lemon,lots and lots of salt and pepper. Use a good quality salt here like a gray salt, mediteranian salt etc... then finish it with the best quality olive oil you can find. The salad will taste very fresh and vibrant.
Rice cooked with fresh peas. Cook about 4-5 cups of rice with fresh peas, once the rice is cooked add two diced and de-seeded tomatoes to it and mix together.
To Serve
Get a plate, and a small to medium size round cookie cutter. At the top of the plate, place the cookie cutter and fill it with the rice dish, press down on the rice and then gently remove the cookie cutter leaving a small to medium sized tower of rice(each person gets a ¼ to a little more than a ¼ of a cup of rice). Below the rice, using your hands, put a small mound of the fennel salad, under that place 3-4 asparagus spears. Have the spears form a trident or you can wrap all three of them in prosciutto. To either side of the fennel salad, which should be in the middle of the plate, add on each side the cumin tuna and jerk pork loin. Wipe the plates clean, and make sure nothing is dripping or moving around and then do the same to the rest of the plates, serve and enjoy.
Dessert – Chocolate Espresso Pot De Creme
12 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
2 2/3 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk do this twice so its 2/3 and then another 2/3 of milk
2 - 4 teaspoons instant-espresso powder (again depends on how strong of an espresso flavor you like)
12 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons sugar
15 (4- to 5-oz) ramekins
Garnish: bittersweet chocolate curls
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream, milk, espresso powder (to taste), and a pinch of salt just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until espresso powder is dissolved, then pour over chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in another bowl, then add warm chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure and cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
Line bottom of a baking pan (large enough to hold ramekins) with a folded kitchen towel and arrange ramekins on towel. Poke several holes in a large sheet of foil with a skewer. Divide custard among ramekins, then bake custards in a hot water bath , pan covered tightly with foil, until custards are set around edges but still slightly wobbly in centers, 30 to 35 minutes.
Transfer ramekins to a rack to cool completely, uncovered, about 1 hour. (Custards will set as they cool.) Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours
There you go, hopefully by Monday or Tuesday next week we can get some feedback on how it all went.
